A Dragon, a Cat, and One Hell of a Butler
by PeopleKillPeople
Summary: In the year 2014, Ciel and Sebastian are working under the current Queen, and together with four others make up the Queen's Animals. The two demons are about to work with someone stranger than their coworkers, and her name's Artemis von Vanity. At only fourteen, she's completed high school and college, but Sebastian gets the sense that there's something else going on.
1. Chapter 1

"What an interesting group of people," I mumbled to myself as I zoomed through the street, trying to get used to driving on the left. Growing up in America your entire life doesn't really help you when you're in the UK, or in any other country. Damn, why does the US have to be so different from the rest of the world?

Making my way through a dense forest, I began to wonder why the Queen has her animals living here. I mean, they're not really animals per se, but is really necessary to isolate them?

Finally pulling into a large parkway, I put my Mustang to a halt. I stared the large manor, and wondered how old it was. It looked like the kind a noble would live in, back in the 19th century. I looked at myself in the mirror, making sure that my brown fringe covered my right eye, and that my black glove was secure on my right hand. Satisfied with my look, I headed out to the trunk, and dragged out my two suitcases. Walking up to the giant wooden doors, I knocked with my fist and waited.

I sensed them before I was even a mile away, so I knew that I wouldn't have to wait too long. And in an instant, six people were on the other side of the doors, with a strange one closest to the door. Straightening up, I kept my brown eye wide open, feigning innocence and nervousness.

I faced a tall man, clad in a black and white butler uniform. He instantly reminded me of a crow, especially with those red eyes. Once I made eye contact with him, I knew everything; Sebastian Michaelis, crow demon, cat obsessed, serves under Ciel Phantomhive through a contract for the past 127 years…. It's a little gift I have.

"Hello my lady," He said in a British accent, "You must be Artemis von Vanity, the Queen's Cat. It is my utmost honor to welcome you into this manor," And with a deep bow, he moved aside so that I could see the other five.

Ciel Phantomhive, with his left eye covered by an eye patch. I tried not to stare, but I knew that he was another demon, thanks to Alois Trancy's contract with Hannah Annafellows, which thereby forced Sebastian to be his butler for all eternity. His deep blue eye seemed to show a mixture of sarcasm, pride, and cruelty. Not intimidated in the least bit, I gave him a small smile when he greeted me.

Rosaline Monroe, a soft creature, was actually a half human-wolf hybrid. She was a beautiful blonde woman, and I felt insignificant to her model physique. But she did face a horrible experience, much like mine. I shook her fair hand, and said hello in a tiny voice.

Noah Jayy, a strong-looking man with piercing grey eyes, was partner to Rosaline. Which was predictable, considering that they came from the same place. Also a wolf-human hybrid, he surprised me by giving me a one-armed hug around the shoulders and yelling a big hello, saying that it was befitting of a Yankee.

Shanna Fay, also a gorgeous woman with a painful past, had flawless brown skin. She was a loud one, but I liked her big personality to say in the least. With bright caramel eyes, I could see how the avian DNA mutated her into giving her the pretty eyes. She gave me a big wave with a smile to match, saying that it was great to welcome another woman into the house.

And last but not least, Trayvon Luther, another avian hybrid, was a lean but fit man,who gave me a small wave of the hand as a greeting. But I knew that he didn't like getting close to people, considering that his entire family was massacred in front of him. But he and Shanna were highschool sweethearts, so she was everything to him. Which meant that he didn't need anything else.

"Aren't you kinda young to be working under the Queen?" Shanna asked me as they showed me to my room. I shrugged, still keeping up the shy act. Just because I knew every little detail about them doesn't mean that they could know everything about me. I'm just a selfish creature.

"Well, this is your room. I hope you like it," Rosaline gestured to a large room with a window that took up the entire North wall. It was rather palatial, and the walls were a midnight blue, reminding me of a late evening sky. I loved it, so I shook my head as an affirmative of my liking to the bedroom.

"Sebastian will leave your belongings in here. For now, we need to discuss business," Straight forward as ever, Earl Ciel Phantomhive. The five of us, sans Sebastian, headed to one of the many living rooms, and settled in. Ciel started first.

"We know that this certain organization of the Queen's is not...normal. We all have a certain trait that made us useful to Her Majesty, and I'm curious as to what yours is. What you learn today may change your view on the world forever, so-" I barely understood him with his accent, so I just interrupted him.

"You're a demon, as well as your butler, Sebastian," I began casually, as if we were having a completely normal conversation, "Rosaline and Noah are both lupin hybrids, and Shanna and Trayvon are avian hybrids. You've been serving under the Royal Family since 18-" And I was the one interrupted.

"How did you know all of that?" Noah asked in his deep booming voice, "That's highly classified information, and the only other person who knew that other than the people in this manor is the Queen herself."

"I have my ways."

Everyone just stared at me, well, Ciel glared, but all the same. Even without them saying it outloud, I knew their thoughts.

_How does she know?_

_Did the Queen tell her?_

_Why won't she tell us how she knows?_

_What else does she know?_

I sat there with a bored look on my face, waiting for them to draw to a conclusion on their own. It was kind of funny, really, to have a bunch of adults in shock due to a 14 year old girl telling them things that they already know. And not to mention that two of them were demons, older than ancient.

It took them a couple minutes after fighting within themselves, with me listening in every now and then without their knowing, to calm down. I wasn't intimidated by some of the dark thoughts that they had, since I could take on any and all of them.

I knew that I probably looked like a brat, with information that could be useful to blackmail them, but I really don't need that. I came here on orders from the Queen and my own president, so I couldn't care less about my coworkers' personal life. I should mention that, but they were finally about to say something. Not that I didn't already know what they were going to say, but it would move things along.

"Well… since you're here on the Queen's order, I guess there isn't much that we can do," Trayvon said solemnly.

"But it would be fair if we knew something about you…" Shanna began, looking at me with her big, caramel eyes.

"...Like why the Queen decided it would a good idea to let a kid like you to start working with us," Noah finished. I raised an eyebrow. Did I look that young?

"Alright," I agreed, "I'll say this much…"

Rosaline leaned forward, Ciel put his chin on his folded hands, Sebastian took a couple steps forward, Shanna waited with her huge eyes, Noah looked like he was on the verge of frustration, and Trayvon just looked bored…

"I'm actually fourteen."

Silence.

"You damn Smart Alec!"

"You couldn't have said something else?!"  
Rosaline had face planted onto the expensive looking carpet, Shanna had a look of shock on her face, Ciel looked annoyed, and Noah and Trayvon exploded. I think that the only person who stayed indifferent was the butler. But he's a demon, so he knows how to handle shit like this.

"Can you tell us something else?" Shanna asked again after recovering.

I shook my head with a slight smile. What a bitch. I _am _a bitch… How sad. Not that I care, really.

"If you have complaints, go ahead and call Her Majesty. But I don't feel comfortable revealing just who I am to a bunch of demons, avians, and lupin hybrids. No offense or anything dudes," I quickly apologized to their slightly offended looks, "I was called here on a mission, and I intend to carry out that mission. Plus, it's involuntary that I found out about your secrets. It's not really controllable, ya know."

"Wait wait wait…" Noah paused for a moment, "You say you're fourteen and yet… You drive a _Mustang?!"_

"Oh well, yeah," I shrugged again, "Can't have chauffeurs taking me from place to place. They'd end up getting shot. Or strangled. Or find out something about me that they shouldn't, which would cause them to 'disappear'. Or kidnapped then tortured. Like that one time with Josh, the poor guy. I think that they used a toothbrush to cut something open, but it took a while and it looked like it was painful since he was screaming and bleeding a lot, but I did save him, mind you, but I don't think that he chauffeurs anymore… Maybe I should give him a call just to check up on him-" I was gonna go on for another good hour or so, but unfortunately I was interrupted by the ex-earl.

"I don't see what this has to do with anything," Ever so high-and-mighty with his stupid British accent. I don't know why, but Ciel's accent was bothering me more than the others, maybe it's because he can be such a dick. And the only reason why I know that he acts like a dick is due to my Past-Reading. I should really get an official name for that…

"Damn Yankee."

Rolling my only visible eye, I considered telling them at least where I'm from. But...Nah, that goes against one of my rules. Never willingly or knowingly give out personal information.

"So, I'm gonna go to my room," Getting up from my seat, I headed toward the large staircase, but stopped. I totally forgot!

"Oh yeah!" Swiveling around on my heel, I faced the six non-humans, "Almost forgot."

"What?" They asked in synchronism, with a look of hope in their eyes.

"Ciel…" Addressing him directly, and looking at him in his blue eye, "This is your old manor, correct? It's beautiful. I've always been fascinated by the Victorian Era," I smiled, and headed to the staircase once again.


	2. Chapter 2

"So… What do you think about our new partner?" Shanna asked awkwardly.

"She freaks me out," Noah blurted out, "I mean, yeah she's like half our age, but did you see the way she dressed? And the way she was so casual about everything? I wonder what she's been through in order to… I don't know, be so fearless and calm."

Everyone else stayed quiet, especially Ciel. He wondered about how this little girl knew so much… She can't be normal, or at least not human. Any rational human being would have been intimidated by him or Sebastian, and yet she stared at him deep in his eye.

"I wonder what's wrong with her eye," Trayvon mumbled.

Almost instantaneous, the other six people turned their heads at neck breaking speed to stare at the usually silent man, and realized that he posed a good question; Why was her right eye covered by so much hair?

"Maybe you're thinking too much into it," Rosaline suggested, "It could be a fashion statement."

"Yeah, you know how teenagers can be," Shanna agreed.

"But knowing the limited amount of information we have about her, it could be so much more," Ciel muttered.

Everyone disappeared into their own world, while Sebastian observed from afar. He had a weird feeling about this girl, and it was unsettling. Sebastian had stayed quiet this entire time trying to figure out what exactly was tipping her off, but other than her strange personality, nothing stood out to him.

"What do you think, Sebastian?"

The question pulled him out of his reverie, and his bright red eyes landed on the cluster of beings in front of him.

"What should I know? I am merely one hell of a butler," He stated with his trademark smile.

"But you've lived longer than any of us," Shanna pressed on, "Surely you have a clue as to what we should do."

"How about focusing on Her Majesty's worries? Surely that's more important than a weird Yankee girl."

Once again turning their heads at an impossible speed, everyone faced Artemis. She wasn't smiling, nor was she mad about them talking about her, but rather she was serious. Artemis held a large beige file in her hands, and waved it in front of her tan face, "This is what I came overseas for, not to hear gossiping English adults. The quicker we get this over with, the quicker I get out of your hair, okay?" She pursed her full lips, waiting for a reply. They all agreed.

"Alright then," Artemis opened the file on the coffee table, and spread out the contents for all to see, "My understanding of this project is to find the legendary Holy Grail, then to return it to your Queen. Apparently granting one wish, she intends to create true peace. According to the legend, it is hidden somewhere in Britain. And as a sign of partnership, my president has sent me here to help you in your quest of retrieving the chalice. Also in here is this," She pulled out a detailed map with different routes highlighted, "Which is probably the most accurate indication of where the grail could be. Questions?" She lifted up her brown eye to look at her temporary partners.

With no questions needing answering, Ciel had to say something.

"Shouldn't we have a more reliable source other than old works of literature?" Ciel asked, "I'd like to avoid wandering through the woods for hours."

Already knowing what Ciel had in mind, Artemis smiled, "Of course. And we both know somebody who can be of use."

* * *

"So, how do you know Undertaker?"

I looked at Rosaline's wide, innocent hazel eyes, and replied with, "I've never met the man before in my life."

Everyone fell to the floor in exasperation, except for Ciel and Sebastian. They were both catching on to my 'talent', plus they've dealt with worse people than me. Probably.

We all entered through the rotting wooden door, and entered a room filled with numerous coffins, in different shapes, sizes, and colors. My eyes widened in amazement.

_Poor Yankee girl's scared. _I heard that thought from Noah, but he was dead wrong.

This place was absolutely…

"Beautiful!" I squealed in excitement. The gorgeous shine from this coffin, the shade of black on that one, the adornments on the corners of every one! Each one was special and unique, plus there were cobwebs and skeletons and internal organs in random places of the room! Am I in heaven?

"What a strange girl, hehehe~"

I turned around and saw a man with long, grey hair step out of a dark purple coffin. So he's Undertaker? Dressed in a long black robe, with the sleeves covering his hands, and a small black hat on the top of his head, he looked fit to be a mortician. He appeared before me in an instant, less than a couple inches away from my face. I couldn't see the top half of his face since it was covered by his bangs, but I remembered that his eyes were the typical shinigami's; a ring of lime green surrounded by a larger ring of bright yellow. That is, according to Ciel's memory.

"Yeah, I get that a lot," I said with my unwavering smile.

Undertaker chuckled again, and glided to the back of his desk. Ciel coughed, impatient to get the visit over with. He never got along with Undertaker's eccentric personality apparently.

"Hehehe~ You all know my price~"

Sighing, Ciel motioned to Sebastian. Sebastian walked to the center of the room, placed an immaculately gloved hand over his chest, and said, "If you all may be so kind as to wait-"

"NO No no. Hehehe~ I want to hear it from…Her…" And with a swoop, Undertaker was suddenly next to me, with one arm over my shoulders, while his other hand was occupied by poking my cheek with a long black fingernail. My smile grew even wider, and I probably looked like a maniac. But who cares, I grew up in America, the country of freaks!

"Now if you would all be so kind as to wait outside, I'll be more than happy to pay the Undertaker," I finished Sebastian's sentence. He gave me a weird look, something along the line of 'Bitch please I'm the butler here get your own script', but I think he's just jealous that Undertaker's getting bored of him.

After a huff from Ciel, the room cleared up. It's just me and you, Undertaker.


	3. Chapter 3

Once I had successfully made the sign at the front of the store fall from its perch due to Undertaker's laughter, everyone was gathered in the store, sitting on a coffin. Or at least they were, I was lying in one, sipping coffee. No tea for me, I ain't British. Plus these were legit and comfortable. Like, I honestly can't wait to die just so that I could lie in here for the rest of eternity.

"Hehehe~ So you want to know about the Holy Grail, eh?" Undertaker was drooling an ocean on his desk, it was kinda gross, "All I can say is listen to that girl over there. She's a smart one, all right. She'll be able to help you locate it without a hitch."

"So we came here for nothing?!" Ciel cried out. Honestly, he still acted like a 12 year old. Except he's like almost 130 and he looks like his dad now…

"I gave you confidence in her now, didn't I? That's worth something, hehehe~" He chuckled once more.

We were about two steps out of the door when Undertaker yelled out, "Be careful, little kitty cat!"

I slammed the door shut. Six pairs of curious eyes looked at me, and I did an awkward close-eyed smile. Not really noticing anything out of the norm, considering that I'm already weird and Undertaker is in a whole different category, we continued on through the streets of London.

Damn you, Undertaker. I glared back at his shop. The dude nearly sold me out! Turning back forward again, I almost crashed into the butler. Almost being the key word there, I did manage to stop myself. Taking a deep breath once Sebastian moved away, I kept my distance from everyone. Tugging on my black leather jacket, I realized how out of place I must've looked. Me, a short Hispanic girl dressed like one of the biggest punk rockers there are, amidst the tall and beautiful.

Ah, fuck it. I won't be living here forever. Let'em think what they want.

Finally reaching the manor, it was already dark out. Day one complete, and I don't think I made the best first impression on the Queen's animals. Maybe I should've dressed more professionally. I guess studded combat boots, black ripped skinny jeans, and band t-shirts are a no-no. It's a good thing I packed some of my aristocrat suits that I bought back home. They're just so… Amazing! Each time I wear the royal blue one, I really do feel like an Aristocrat!

As I was imagining the beauty in my head, I was walking up the grand staircase. So gorgeous, amazing, why couldn't I have been born then…

"Ahem!"

Coming back down to Earth, I saw Ciel and Sebastian at the foot of the stairs. I waited for him to continue.

"If you're hungry, I'll have Sebastian prepare something for you. You do eat, don't you?" His cerulean eye stared back at me with boredom and a pinch of curiosity.

I smiled my gratitude, and replied with, "Yeah, I eat, but not as often as the average human. Thanks, but no thanks."

Finishing the trek up the stairs, I tried to imagine Sebastian cooking anything relatively Spanish. Tortillas, chicharones, carne asada... Nah. Although, I just may take up the offer for dessert. According to Ciel's memories, his Gateau au Chocolat was to die for.

But he just couldn't call it chocolate cake in English, probably because everything in French sounded cooler. Chateau, chien, boulangerie... Good thing I took French in high school. Otherwise I wouldn't know what the hell Ciel and Sebastian would say behind my back. Bunch of lowlife demons...

After going through the maze like hallways, I finally got to my bedroom. Tomorrow I start off my new job as a translator. For any language really. That's the funny thing about mind reading. No matter what your native tongue is, I'll understand you.

Making sure that the door was locked, I rummaged through my suitcases until I found my towel. Undressing on my way to the bathroom, I left my clothes strewn on the floor, getting wrinkled. Eh...I'll pick it up later. Maybe. Like when I leave this place.

Only in my underwear, I turned on the shower and waited for the water to heat up. The room started to fog up, and I realized that enough time had passed.

Letting the scorching water pound my head, I fiddled around with the gold necklace. The pendant was that of the Virgin Mary, in the middle of a tiny gold circle, with crevices around her making it look like she was emitting light. I've had this since as long as I can remember, and it's seen all of the hell I went through. I don't believe in God anymore, but I still wear it because it's the only real piece from my past. It's the only thing I have left from them...

Automatically turning off the water once I was done, I stared at myself in the mirror. My wavy brown hair was weighed down by the water, and my right eye was revealed to me in my reflection, staring back at me with the strange green-blue glow.

Squeezing my eyes shut and looking down at the sink, I looked at my right hand. I almost wanted to puke. How did I not notice this before? The mark that I was born with was the same as-

No, no, no. Do NOT freak out now. Finish the mission and go home. He'll never be able to find you afterwards if you keep running...Just a little while longer…

Quickly dressing myself in my pajamas, I hid under the blue comforters, as if it would help me hide from those two. My breathing was erratic, and I just wanted to run into the night and never return. Calm down, calm down, calm down…

Just don't think about it. If they haven't sensed it yet, then I'm still safe. All I have to do is finish this mission as soon as possible…

Yes...just until then…


	4. Chapter 4

"Good morning, Miss Artemis."

I nearly jumped out of my skin at the sound of the suave voice next to my bed. Luckily, due to habit, I managed to keep my right eye closed and my deformed hand hidden under the covers. I looked at Sebastian with my left eye through my curly brown hair, with a deer-caught-in-the-headlights stare. He gave me his trademark smile, the one where he closes his eyes, and I calmed down a bit. Looking at the clock, I realized it was 8'o clock.

Sighing, I replied with a soft, "Good morning."

"Breakfast is ready for you downstairs, and everyone else is getting ready as well. Please do make haste, for you have a busy schedule today," And with another smile, Sebastian left my room.

Is he gonna do this every day? I wondered as I looked through my suitcase for my blue aristocratic jacket. If that was the case, then I might as well leave my glove on, even when I sleep. And buy an eye patch. Ciel and I could be matching.

Finally finding the love of my life, I hurriedly put it on along with the matching vest and a frilly collared white shirt. With black leggings and black high heeled ankle boots completing the look, I took a look in the mirror and groaned. My hair's a mess! And I can't straighten it like yesterday because that would take forever…

Cursing my broken curls, I ran to my bathroom before brushing my teeth. Then I set to work. Turning on the tap, I wet my hands under the faucet, and quickly ran my hands along the length of my hair. Repeating this action until I was satisfied, I got a tiny bit of gel, rubbed it around my palms, and applied it.

Now my hair was perfect! My outfit was perfect! And pulling on my leather glove, I headed out into the hallway, and into the dining room. For some reason, only the guys were there, pigging out on Eggs Benedict and apple juice. Feeling my stomach curl at the sight and smell of eggs, I sat at the edge of the table. Awkwardly waiting for them to finish, I looked out of the window, that is, until I was interrupted.

"Does the breakfast spread not please you?" Ciel asked.

Following the trail of plates of bacon, muffins, biscuits, and eggs, I met Ciel's deep blue eye with my dark brown one. I knew that he didn't care much for my actual health, but if the Queen were to find out that I keeled over from starvation, she'd have his butt with tea.

And since Ciel is a pompous bastard and cares a lot about his butt, he almost obsessed over my eating habits. Although 'obsessed' is a strong word since he only asked twice…

"I'm not hungry," I replied in a polite voice. Noah almost choked on his eggs, and Trayvon snorted in his glass of apple juice. Well, it was true...Sort of. The disgusting smell of fried eggs plus bacon and apple juice just ruined my appetite. Those are probably the top three foods I hate, right in front of me.

"Are you the same chick from yesterday? Or do you have a split personality disorder?" Noah asked after recovering.

Sighing for the second time that morning, I nodded, "I'm the same person."

Giving me a skeptical look, Noah continued to eat his morning food. Trayvon stayed quiet, as per usual.

A couple minutes later, the two other females walked down the stairs. Rosaline smiled nicely at me, while Shanna exclaimed, "Oh my god, your hair! It's gorgeous! You should leave it like that more often."

Once they finished eating, Ciel explained our schedule, and excused himself from the table so that he could show me the office. Following the two demons to fulfill my cover story, I wondered how my parents would react if they found out about Ciel and Sebastian's real identity. Considering that they're die-hard Catholics, they'd probably call a Father over. But they'd have to care about me to do that, which they don't. But it was funny to imagine them overreacting, clutching at their Rosaries and Crucifixes. Ah, well…

"This is going to be your office," Ciel nodded at Sebastian, who then proceeded to open the door.

It was a beautiful room, like all the others in this house, and it also had a large window. Listening to the birds chirping, I felt a faint smile decorate my face. I wonder if they'd be proud of me if things were different…

"Your first job is actually going to be in a few hours," Ciel began as he walked beside me, "You'll be translating between me and a Spanish company."

"Don't you know Spanish?" I asked incredulously. Living in this side of the world, so close to Spain, you'd think he'd try to learn with all the time he has as a demon.

Eyebrow twitching, Ciel just muttered, "I'll call you when it's almost time."

Left alone in my office, I decided to explore a bit. On my wooden desk was a high-tech computer, pencils, a stapler, and a calendar. So much for originality.

I played some sort of cat game on the computer before Sebastian showed up at my door again. But instead of leaving me to my own devices, he walked with me to the meeting. I stayed as far away from him as I could without being too awkward about it, but I caught him giving me a couple glances. I wanted to try and read his mind, but it comes and goes as it pleases, and if I try to force myself onto his mind, it just tires me out. So, I played around with my necklace. Hopefully he doesn't notice that it's the Virgin Mary, or else he's gonna think that I'm scared of him or something, which I'm not, even though he's the demon with the-

"Here we are," Opening the door to the meeting room, I sat next to Ciel, and crossed my legs. The guys from the company came soon afterwards, and after greetings, we set down to business.

"_Entonces nosotros pensamos que tal vez Señor Phantomhive quería a probar este __sistemático de vendiendo los juguetes. Así el puede a vender más sin problemas, y nosotros solo pedimos dos porciento de la veinte, " _They finished their presentation with a smile. I smiled back, and faced Ciel.

"And to finish off, they said that they thought that you would like to try this system to sell your products. That way you can sell more without a problem, and they're only asking for two percent of the sales," I translated.

Ciel thought for a moment, and I could feel the anticipation radiating from the presenters. After five minutes of pure suspension, for the Spaniards that is, Ciel agreed. Breathing a sigh of relief, they all signed a contract, shook hands, and walked out of the room.

Gathering the signed contracts, I put them in a folder, and headed out. Strolling out after the men towards the exit, the two Spanish speakers gravitated to me, since I was the only one who could understand them.

"_Y como se llamas?" __**What's your name?**_Oh yeah, I guess I forgot to say my name at the beginning of the meeting…

"_Me llama_ _Artemis" __**My name is Artemis…**_

"_Cuantos anos tienes?" __**How old are you?**_

"_Yo ya tengo quatorse anos," __**I'm fourteen.**_

We continued to talk in Spanish, especially since they were interested in how I was so young and working already. They were funny, and whenever I giggled Sebastian or Ciel would give me a side glance out of the corner of their eye. They probably wondered if we were talking about them or something.

Finally reaching the entrance of the house, we said our goodbyes and they left. I tried to get to my office as well, but something held me by the back of my collar. I turned around, and was faced with Sebastian's smiling face, the one that said, 'Bitch you're about to die a slow and painful death and I'm the one who's gonna kill you'. Damn it all…

"May I help you, creepy butler?" I asked in a polite tone.

"No, but you can help me," Ciel came into my field of vision after a bit of squirming, "What did you three talk about after the meeting?"

So they were thinking that we were making fun of them. Ha! As if…

"Oh you know, about this and that…" I said vaguely while trying to pry myself out of Sebastian's fingers. I could have easily broken them, but hey, as far as they know, I'm a somewhat normal girl. And I'd like to keep it that way.

"Elaborate."

Giving up, I slumped, "They wanted to know more about me, so I answered some of their questions. Then we started talking about where exactly we're from, and started telling jokes. They should become comedians, if you ask me."

Sebastian let go of me, and I smoothed out my jacket. Demons just think that everything has to do with them, well I have better things to do you stupid, vile creatures-

"Where are you from, anyways?" Ciel asked. I was going to say _America you pompous bastard, why else do you think Noah calls me a Yankee?_ But I had a feeling that he wasn't going to take anymore crap from me.

"I was born in Northern Virginia," I was about to say more, but caught myself. No need to say more…

"So how did you learn Spanish?" He asked after a couple minutes. I raised my eyebrows. Was he really curious or just really bored?

"Back over in Virginia, it's kinda required that we take a foreign language. We have a choice between French, Arabic, and Spanish. Coming from where I am, I chose-"

"Spanish," Ciel finished. I smirked. You're only half right, jack ass.

"And French," I added.

I heard a small 'hmph' from Ciel, and he stayed quiet for the rest of the trip to my office. I entered through the heavy wooden door while Ciel continued on his way to his own office. Opening one of the drawers in my desk, I put the folder in its spot.

Such hard work for a cover story, really.

Not knowing what else to do, I turned on my computer again. And for lack of anything else to do, I proceeded to play my cat game. What have I been reduced to, honestly… Didn't Sebastian say I had a busy schedule?

I was currently grooming one of my virtual kittens when I sensed something outside. It didn't feel familiar, so it wasn't any of my coworkers. Plus it was like, 5 miles out in the woods, so what would they be doing out that far anyways?

I paused the game, and opened the window. It was dark and gloomy out, and the clouds gave off small rumbles of thunder. At the risk of my precious getting wet, I decided to leave it inside, along with the vest. So I jumped out just in my frilly white shirt and leggings, and I looked like some kind of waitress. But unlike a normal waitress, as soon as I touched the ground, I took off at an impossible speed. Trees, bushes, and wildlife zoomed past me as I got closer to the foreign presence, and I realized that it wasn't even human. It was a shinigami… But not Undertaker. No, it was very different from his…

I was close enough to hear it, and I couldn't tell its gender. It sounded like a high-pitched male's voice, almost sing-songy. All it would say is, "Bassy, my sweet Bassy!" and "Where is he, my beautiful Se-bas-chan~" So its target was Sebastian. Weird.

I climbed on top of a tree, and a few feet away from me was a red clad shinigami, with long bright scarlet hair and sharp teeth. He or she held a camera, but put it down when I blocked its view with a whine.

"Who're you?" He/she asked. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say its a male, but I could always be mistaken.

"Depends," I answered, "What business do you have with the butler?"

Before he could answer, my talent came along. Thank you very much, past reading abilities, for coming now. Why the hell do I have to wait to make literal eye contact to know everything about them?

_Grell Sutcliff. Male. Is infatuated with Sebastian Michaelis, and had previous relationship with Angelina Durless, Ciel Phantomhive's aunt. A shinigami with a chainsaw as a death scythe. An interesting creature, for sure._

"Oh, well Bassy and I are lovers, you know~" He practically sang this while hugging his chainsaw. The poor thing is crazy.

"Ah," I nodded as I looked down the tree. Hundreds of feet below me, and I was calmly conversing with a gay Death God who had a crush on a Crow Demon. Normal day, apparently.

"Well, let me introduce myself," I held out my hand and a smile, "I go by Artemis Von Vanity. What's your name?"

"Oh, what a darling you are," He shook my hand, "I'm Grell Sutcliff, a Butler of Death!"

"What are you doing all the way out here?" I asked as if I cared. I just wanted to bring him to the manor and see what destruction he can bring to Sebastian. For entertainment really, it was just a real boring day.

"Oh, well you see, Bassy isn't too keen on having me there on that brat's mansion, so I keep my distance," Grell looked sad for a moment before brightening up again, "And what do you do at the manor? I haven't seen you there before."

Before I could answer, I heard footsteps underneath my tree. And in a blink of an eye, everyone else was there too, surrounding Grell. The males had a look of disgust on their faces while Rosaline and Shanna held smiles. This shinigami truly was a spectacle.

"Grell, what are you doing here?" Sebastian asked, looking exasperated, "And what are you doing here, Miss Artemis?" He asked, almost looking annoyed.

"I'm here for you, my love!"

"I'm making friends."

I think you can guess who said what.

"I wouldn't suggest talking to this one," Sebastian gestured to Grell, who was getting ready to glomp him, but was afraid to fall hundreds of feet onto his face.

"And how did you know that he was out here?" Noah inquired.

"Lucky guess," I replied quickly.

"And how did you get up here?" Rosaline softly asked.

Eye twitching, I mumbled, "The same way you did."

They stopped asking me questions, since it was pointless, and gave the soul reaper their undivided attention.

"Shouldn't you be working?" Trayvon muttered, trying to get the conversation to end.

"I am!" Grell shrieked, squirming on the tip of his tree, "She's supposed to die soon!" And he pointed at me.

Me? I can die? I thought that I was invincible after _that_ happened… Huh.

Silence. Only the occasional thunder interrupted, and I vaguely wondered whether or not I was supposed to break down crying or what. But I didn't feel anything, really. I've always known this day was going to come…

The thought of finally dying, after all this time of praying for death during that period of pain, made me want to laugh. It was funny, to finally have God answer me. I had to wait two more years for this, and it's finally coming. It's about time.

A genuine smile. That's all they could see. Inside, I was laughing, crying, jumping out of pure joy.

"That's great," I whispered, "I wonder...Am I going to heaven or Hell? Ah, well, I guess it doesn't matter much. Thank you, Grell, for bringing me the best of news."

"Are you okay, Artemis?" Shanna looked concerned. Maybe I looked crazy, since I was just told that I was going to die soon, and yet I was smiling.

"I feel amazing," And indeed I was.

"We should get going," Rosaline stared at me, with worry in her eyes.

"Oh, is my Bassy leaving?" Grell pouted, "Can I at least have a kiss?" And he puckered his lips.

I had already made my way down the tree before I heard a scream come from Grell. He sure as Hell didn't get a kiss.

I ran back to the manor at a relaxing pace, for me at least. I think I was still going 60 miles per hour. The rest of the group ran alongside quietly, not knowing what to say. And what would they? Sorry? We're going to miss you? We just met, I won't have a major impact on them if I died.

I had just walked through the back doors when something glomped me from behind. And then another weight was added, with constricting arms around my neck. It wasn't exactly comfortable, but I'll live. Or maybe this is how I'm going to die?

"You poor, poor girl!" Shanna all but yelled into my ear.

"I'm so sorry you had to find out that way!" Rosaline sobbed.

"Why couldn't we have met earlier!?"

"You'll be deeply missed!"

I continued my way through the dining room and into the living room, ignoring what they were saying. The men followed behind, awkwardly shuffling their feet, looking at the females and their bumbling forms. Should I get them to stop? I want to try and finish this mission before I died.

"Hey, hey, hey," I dumped them onto the couch, "It'll be okay."

They actually had tears in their eyes! We only met each other literally 48 hours ago!

"NO IT'S NOT!" Shanna bawled, with mascara running down her cheeks.

"YOU'RE GOING TO DIE! HOW IS THAT OK?!" Rosaline cuddled with Shanna, looking at me with big, watery eyes. Aren't they supposed to be the ones comforting me?

"You say that like it's a bad thing," I began, "I _want _to die, believe it or not. So there's no point-"

"YOU'RE JUST SAYING THAT TO MAKE US FEEL BETTER!" They yelled in synchronism.

Sighing, I looked at their partners. With hands held out in front of them, I knew what they were trying to say. 'You're on your own.'

"Okay then fine. Believe what you want," I gave up, "But can we at least finish this mission before I die?"  
"Is that your final, dying wish?" Shanna sniffled.

"Uh, yeah, sure," I rolled my eyes. It's not like I'm dying of a terminal illness or something.

"Then we'll do it! Right now!" Wiping off their messed up make up, they ran upstairs, and yelled at the rest of us to get ready.

After maybe half an hour, we were ready. I had changed into my favorite pair of combat boots and waist-high camouflage skinny jeans, with a simple tank top to complete the outfit. Sebastian had stayed in his uniform, which was stupid, but maybe he doesn't have anything else in his closet? Ciel looked like he was going out hunting, Noah and Trayvon had clothes that said 'We're in a zombie apocalypse', and Shanna and Rosaline wore something similar to mine. Except Shanna had a camo jacket instead of pants, and Rosaline was using a camo shirt. Were they trying to pay their respects to me?

"So then," Ciel looked at me, "Where to?"

**A/N: So, um, hi. **

**I got my first couple of reviews! SO happy! I literally fangirled over the positive feedback. **

**I know. I have no life. But who cares! PEOPLE ACTUALLY READ THIS!**

**This is my first fanfiction ever, and the first time I had the courage to post anything I've written on the internet, so I'm glad that others enjoy this. I'll be sure to finish this, just for the people who like this. **

'**Cuz you're special and all that.**

**Buuuuut that's probably as touchy-feely as I'll ever get, I hate sentiments and all that crap. **


	5. Chapter 5

We parked in front of a dense forest, and I held out the map. I found the part where it was marked, and began running. This was the probably the longest and most boring part-actually finding the location. Since everyone was behind me, I closed my eyes and concentrated. Once again opening them, I saw the environment in different colors. Everything was in blue or black, except for a certain path. That was in a bright red, and I began to follow it. This was another quirk of mine, and not even I'm sure how it works. All I know is that it's like an inner GPS, and all I have to do is think really hard about what I'm looking for, and BOOM-instant directions.

I continued running faster than the others, simply because I didn't want them to see me like this. I know that my eyes are glowing like some sort of freaky party lights, blending into different colors. Plus when I talk, I sound weird. Like a cyborg or robot or whatever.

In a couple moments the red path disappeared behind a giant boulder. Turning off my inner GPS thingy, I slowed down to a walk, and examined the rock. It looked pretty real, except for the fact that it had something scribbled in Latin on the sides.

"It should be somewhere behind this rock," I pointed unnecessarily to the giant wall.

"No problem," Noah flexed his already bulging muscles, "I can just slam into it and it'll be gone."

"Shouldn't we read the stuff on the side?" Shanna asked. Sebastian stepped forward, looked at the scribbles and smiled.

"It asks if we are ready to face the life we have lived so far," He translated.

"Of course I am!" Noah yelled at the boulder.

"Sure," Trayvon mumbled.

"Yes," Shanna answered.

"I am," Rosaline said in a strong voice.

"Whatever," Ciel muttered.

Sebastian nodded.

"Sure…" I just hope they don't get to see it.

With the ground trembling underneath us, the rock moved. It showed a dark looking cave, and I wasn't sure how far in it went. Noah stepped inside first, with everyone else following behind like ducklings. I looked back at the forest, wondering if I should really go too. Ah, Hell. I'm gonna die soon, so why's it matter?

The entrance closed, leaving us in blackness. Then it grew unbearably white, to the point where I had to squint. A deep voice reached out in the whiteness.

"For what purpose have you all come here?" It asked, resonating throughout the room.

"We have come for the legend known as the Holy Grail," Ciel answered.

"Oh," It sounded surprised for some reason… "Well, you came to the right place. As it was first asked at the entrance, are you really and truly ready to see what kind of life you have led? Are you willing to let others see it as well? If not, then leave now."

I was about to high tail out of there, but I never got the chance.

"I see you are all ready then. But I should explain something first. If any one of you can't handle looking through your past, and beg me to stop, you all die," Two huge white doors appeared in front of us, with white feathers trickling down. Rosaline's name was printed on them in cursive, "This is the first one. Good luck, travelers."

The aforementioned woman walked to the front of the double doors, and with a second of hesitation, pushed them open. We all entered into an elegant looking ballroom, clean and pristine as it could be. A projector was seated in the middle of the room, and began to play.

It was a beautiful day on May 30, 1990. Rosaline Monroe was just born into a successful and prestigious family, full of warmth and love. She was an only child, and so she was precious.

School was a no-brainer. Boys dropped to her feet. She had beauty and brains, and nothing could ruin her mood. She always smiled, and was always kind. Rosaline was one to make friends, not enemies.

One day, she was walking home after her last year as a senior at high school. What awaited her at home shocked her.

Her mother, bleeding over their elegant piano. Rosaline cried over her loss, before screaming out for her father. She ran from room to room, sometimes finding the corpses of some of her servants.

"Father!" She cried out before opening the door to his office.

She did find her dad. But it was right at the moment before his brains were splattered onto the walls and floor. Rosaline screamed, eyes wide, clutching at her head.

What just happened? This can't be real, life isn't this cruel…

"Stupid girl," A male voice was above her, and clutched at her shiny blonde hair, "You should've left long ago. But now I can't let you go. I'll just make money off of you then."

The man drugged Rosaline, and she didn't see him again.

"Let me go!" She screamed, struggling against the restraints.

"Shut her up," A nasal voice commanded. Rosaline was suddenly gagged, but that didn't stop her from trying to screech around it.

Needles were stuck into her, and following that was what felt like liquid fire running through her veins. Crying, screaming, struggling… Nothing seemed to work against these monsters.

Then a greater pain followed, and bones broke then mended together. Hair grew all over her body, and she could suddenly see a snout growing. Rosaline lost the ability to speak, but managed to growl.

"It worked! It was a success!"

She heard hands clapping above her, but Rosaline stayed quiet, trying to ease the pain by staying still. A deep, masculine voice soon made its presence, and it was one she hasn't heard of before.

"I know that you're in a lot of pain, trust me I know how it feels. But I want you to listen to me. Close your eyes, imagine your human body. It's going to hurt again, but at least then you'll be normal."

This voice sounded genuinely sorry, and Rosaline was a little reluctant at first to listen. But the thought of staying a dog forever motivated her to follow his directions.

Pain, pain, _pain… _So intense, and it felt like it was going to last forever. However, it slowly faded away, until she could take a big gulp of air and not scream. Opening her hazel eyes, Rosaline looked through her tears and saw a strong, rugged looking man. Grey eyes stared into her own, and she automatically knew that she could trust this man.

It wasn't too long after this first encounter that the duo escaped. They had transformed into their canine forms, and caused havoc. Noah and Rosaline even helped the other captives reach their freedom as well.

The Queen heard about these two from her police, and had them join Ciel. They've been working together since, and have been accepting newcomers into their group.

Rosaline lost her perfect family. But she met a lover, and had another family given to her. So what if some of them are demons? They're family.

They are perfect.

"THAT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL!" Shanna cried out whilst clutching my head. She was messing up my hair, and getting it wet with her tears. Ugh, salt water…

Rosaline herself was silently crying in Noah's arms, who was kissing her cheeks lovingly. Trayvon was smiling, and Ciel was too. Ok, that's cool, I'll just be the awkward newbie. Yup. Emotional females, that's so not me.

Another thunder rumbled throughout the ground, and the wall opposite to us opened ominously. I wonder who's next?

"Who wants to go first?" Noah mumbled through Rosaline's blonde hair that was beginning to resemble a bird's nest. But Hell, I bet mine looks worse. And she still looks good…

"Artemis volunteers as tribute!" Quickly releasing me from her embrace, Shanna shoved me through the newly-formed exit. I fumbled through the darkness, keeping my arms out to make sure I wasn't about to bump into anything, or _anyone. _

"I'll have you all know, I _did not volunteer for shit,"_ I growled. Finally feeling a smooth vertical surface, I awaited the blinding light. Which came at around the same time I thought about it. Cool.

Grey doors stood in front of us, with block letters spelling out Noah's name. I breathed a sigh of relief. What am I going to do when it's my turn?! I don't want these people to know anything! Nothing! Nada! Rien!

I guess I was fretting too much to notice that Noah had already opened the doors, because I realized that Sebastian was dragging me by the back of my shirt again. Whatever. Fuck it. Free ride. Bitches. Boats and hoes.

We were suddenly surrounded by a room that looked like a gym, it even had dumbbells and a benching press and a bunch of other body building stuff.

And once again, that projector was there, in the middle of the room, facing a wall. It began to play, and one thought crossed my mind.

Am I going to have to go through this another six times?

**A/N: Heyyyyyy guys.**

**So yay! We finally get some background on one of the many OC's I have in this fanfic. The next couple chapters you'll get to know everyone's family, environment that they grew up in, and I'll even make one up for Bassy. **

'**Cuz he gives Artemis free rides bitches.**

**And I should probably do a disclaimer or something so… I DO NOT OWN BLACK BUTLER! I ONLY OWN MY OC'S AND PLOT.**

**That is all.**


	6. Chapter 6

Leaves were falling on the ground. A light, warm breeze left over from summer drifted across a large farm. This was Noah Jayy's birthplace, where on September 3rd, 1989, he made his existence known to the world.

Growing up on the farm with a large family of ten, Noah grew to love the outdoors. He may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but he makes up for it in brawn. And looks. But he never let that get to his head. Sure, girls were nice at school, but his little sister Maggie will always be his number one.

It was nearing the end of his senior year of high school, and Noah was running through the rain, which didn't dampen his mood at all. He had just received a scholarship from playing football! His parents are gonna be psyched!

Suddenly a van slowed down next to him. Noah couldn't see much through the heavy precipitation, but he knew these guys were trouble by the way the hairs on the back of his neck were standing. Noah ran as fast as he could, but he was no match for a vehicle. The blonde man was tackled to the ground, but not without a fight. No! He was not going to leave his family!

It took six people to finally restrain Noah, and they had to knock him out physically because the drugs wouldn't work on him. They must've hit him really hard because the only thing that woke him up was the extreme, tortuous pain the creeps in lab coats were putting him through. Noah couldn't do anything, couldn't say anything-Nothing but scream.

But nothing hurt him more than the thought of little Maggie, and her sad pudgy face at the news of Noah's disappearance. Who was going to beat her bullies to a bloody pulp if he was gone?

Who knew how much time Noah spent in that underground lab? He didn't care anymore, the pain made him numb. That is, until he saw another wolf, strapped to the table and whining. He saw the pain, the same amount that he went through. And giving the only advice that he knows when it comes to this, Noah whispered, "I know you're in a lot of pain, trust me I know how it feels. But I want you to listen to me. Close your eyes, imagine your human body. It's going to hurt again, but at least then you'll be normal."

Rosaline made him normal again. She was there when he rebelled, she let him cry on her shoulder when they learned of Maggie's suicide. So what if he has to deal with weirdos practically every day? At least he's with her.

"THAT WAS SO CUTE!" Shanna cried out, again, with tears running down her face. I kept her at arms length, making sure she didn't mess up my hair anymore.

"I'm not cute," Noah tried to growl, but it failed since his voice cracked.

"Shall we continue?" Sebastian asked, holding the door open for everyone else. I would've thought that the act was just courtesy of him being a butler, but I suspect that he was just scared to walk in first. What a wuss.

Luckily Shanna didn't have a chance to push me inside, because Trayvon had already shuffled in. With a shriek, she followed him into the darkness. The rest of us made our way towards them, when we reached the next door. And guess who was next? SHANNA! Ha! She deserved it…

"W-well, all right…" She looked like she had just gone into shock, since her eyes were wide and she was frozen in the pose of somebody running. Plus she stuttered. Shanna never stutters.

Opening the magnificent French doors, we entered into Shanna's room. Of her past...or something.

It looked like a ballet studio, with the walls covered in mirrors. I looked at my reflection, and at the others'. I didn't see the projector anywhere, and Shanna kind of looked relieved. Was it broken? Was my past safe?

"I've decided that just watching them was getting boring," The voice boomed, "I'd like the person himself to explain what has happened to them thus far."

"Are you serious?" Shanna screamed.

"We are _not _doing this for your entertainment," Ciel interjected. I would have jumped in too, if I hadn't realized something: If I told them my 'story', I could keep out the important stuff. Like my hand. I guess I could tell them about my eye…

"If you all disagree to these new terms, then I have no choice but to kill you all," The voice threatened. Eh, I was going to die anyways.

"So what do you want to do?" Trayvon asked Shanna.

"I have to do it," She gained confidence, "Not for me or any of you, but because I promised Artemis that I would do this. For her."

How touching.

"And if you leave anything out of your story, you'll die," The voice added.

Damn it all.

Shanna straightened up, and began to talk.

"I was born on October 16th, 1992. I grew up in the ghetto, but it didn't really bother me. I had two older brothers, Troy and Nathan. Um… When I was a little girl, I became obsessed with ballet. My dream was to be a ballerina, and to dance all night. At first I couldn't take classes because my family couldn't afford it, but once I was old enough to work, I paid for myself. That's where I met Trayvon. He would come over and pick up his little sister, and I realized that we went to the same school.

We got talking after that," She continued, "And closer. We soon started dating, and his sister was such an angel. But one day, as we were walking home, a man jumped on top of her. Trayvon automatically pushed the guy off, and I told her to run home. She did. It was the last time we saw her.

The man started to laugh even though Trayvon was punching him. I don't remember much after that other than the sound of a car behind me," Shanna took a shaky breath, "I woke up on a metal table. I didn't see Trayvon anywhere, and I began to freak out. I mean, a bunch of white dudes were above me in lab coats! They gave me more drugs, and I felt numb. An older man showed up, said something weird, I didn't really catch what he said. Then that was when it happened. They cut open my stomach, they shaved off half of my hair and opened up my head. It was _so painful._ But not compared to what they did next. After God knows how long, they flipped me onto my back. The stitches on front haven't completely healed, so it felt like Hell. I don't know when they cut my back, but I found out about it after they pulled out the knife. Afterwards they poured some type of liquid, and it felt like alcohol was being thrown in. It stung so bad," She shuddered, "Then somehow the pain grew even worse. As it turned out, my wings were beginning to grow. I tried to scream, but I had lost my voice a long time ago, so all I could do was cry. It was beyond comprehension.

Later I finally got to meet up with Trayvon. The same thing had happened to him, and we became even more inseparable. We started to mutate further, up to the point where the wack jobs couldn't control us anymore. Then we broke out, just when the police were about to break in. The Queen was told about us, and she gave us a job and place to live. Then we met Rosaline and Noah, and we began working together," Shanna finally finished her monologue.

Trayvon hugged her for a while before the next set of doors appeared before us, with his name on it. Not hesitating at all, Trayvon walked in. The rest of us followed silently, into a room filled with sports equipment. Basketballs, footballs, soccer balls, anything like that really, filled the entire room. There were even hoops jutting from the walls, next to posters of famous athletes. Suddenly Trayvon stopped walking. We paused as well, and silence filled the room. We waited for him to started speaking, but he only said two sentences.

"Same as Shanna. Except when I got home my family was killed in front of me by a burglar."

And for some reason that was acceptable…

"Wait, wait, wait," Noah yelled at the ceiling, "How come you accept two sentences from him?"

"Because Trayvon is a man of few words. I'm cool with that," The voice responded.

Um, okay then…

**A/N: Yeah, this chapter is pretty short, but the next one is when we learn about BASSY! YAAAAAYYYY! **

**And Ciel says some stuff too but who cares. We all know what happened to him.**

**That pompous bastard…**

**Artemis is gonna learn a lot about that curse mark on her hand in the next chapter… Can anyone make any connections? **

**Till next Wednesday! Don't forget to review!**


	7. Chapter 7

Next person: Ciel Phantomhive. In a room very similar to his office. Hell, it even has the view and everything.

I was beginning to sweat. Well, not literally, but after him it's going to be between me and Sebastian. And even if Sebastian goes first, I'll still have to go. Groan.

I was still fretting when Ciel began his spiel. I already knew his tragic and traumatizing life story, but I tuned back into it when I realized it was kind of rude to not listen.

"...I was used as a sacrifice for an organization of demon worshippers. A demon was summoned, but not by them. Sebastian appeared before me, and I told him about my plans for revenge. We made the contract, and he served under me up to the point where an angel named Ash was killed and so was Queen Victoria. But another demon had stolen my soul before Sebastian could get to it first. His name was Claude Faustus, who was under orders of another boy named Alois Trancy. Alois had thought that Sebastian was the one who destroyed his village and murdered his little brother, so he wanted revenge. He died as well, by Claude. But then I was captured, and was inserted with Alois Trancy's memories. Sebastian had to solve a maze to get to me, but then Alois learned the truth about what had happened-a demoness had contracted with his brother and ate his soul. After learning this, Alois made sure nobody was going to get my soul. So in order to make that possible, I had turned into a demon. And due to an order I had given beforehand, Sebastian has to serve me for as long as I live. The end," Ciel had said all of that without pausing or cringing. Which made everything go faster. Which means that the next person is up…

The doors took their time, inching their way up from the ground, probably just to create suspension. Who would it be? Me or Sebastian? We were the two most mysterious people in this group. Everyone here is just dying to learn about us. It's weird.

And the next victim is…

Sebastian Michaelis.

Notice how I said victim?

I breathed a sigh of relief, and glanced over at said demon. He didn't wear any emotion whatsoever; he was just as passive as ever. Once his doors were ready to open, he pushed them with his immaculately white gloved hands.

A room of cats. How else am I supposed to explain it? There were dozens, maybe even hundreds of felines on the ground, scratching posts, or teetering on miscellaneous objects. Different shapes, sizes, colors and patterns. Automatically the butler was on his knees, petting and fondling any kitten that was within reach. Some even managed to get on his head and shoulders, chewing on his pitch black hair. Mewls and hisses filled the room, intertwining with one another. I was half expecting Ciel to begin sneezing due to his allergies, but I remembered that he was a demon. Nothing can really affect him except for salt. Maybe.

Talking about Ciel, I could tell from his thoughts that he was embarrassed by Sebastian's actions. For example, some of the pompous bastard's thoughts were:

_Get up you idiot._

_Why are you doing this now, of all times?_

_You're such a kitten molester, I swear._

I was about to say something when an army of cats came to me, surrounding my feet. They scratched at my boots and pants, meowing every now and then. They stared at me with bright eyes, and began talking to me.

_Hi! Do you have tuna?_

_You smell good…_

_Can we be friends?_

_Are you a cat too?_

I was about to respond when I remembered that I wasn't alone. And that the others still don't know what I am. So I just picked some of them up and started cuddling cuz yeah, who wouldn't? Not even I can bear their cuteness.

"I didn't know you liked cats," Ciel said, surprised. I shrugged.

"They like me, so I thought that it would be nice if the feeling was mutual," I explained through a soft ball of fluff.

Ciel started to groan when some of the cats' fur started to shed onto his grey pants. I rolled my eyes and muttered, "Pompous bastard," which is my new nickname for him. Officially starting now.

"Excuse me?" Ciel glared at me, but before he could continue he was interrupted.

"What are you waiting for, demon?" The voice asked, rather rudely if I might add.

"Oh, please do forgive me for my actions," Sebastian plopped a feline onto the ground. Straightening out his clothes, Sebastian faced us with a devious glint in his eyes. And my mind reading just had to leave this very moment...Urgh.

"Now before I begin I must warn you all," Doing his trademark smile, it looked like he was about to rape us, "If you so much as breathe a word about what I am about to say, I will have no choice but to kill you, whether you claim to be immortal or not. I am a very old demon, so of course I have had many experiences. No one else may know about this. Understood?"

With a creepy demon aura seeping out from behind him, it didn't take long for the others to nod vigorously. I stayed still. But I don't think he noticed because Sebastian began to talk.

"So then, where to begin," He thumped one of his fists onto an outstretched palm, "Ah! Well, I don't remember when exactly I was 'born' per se, but I do remember when I first got bored of just eating random souls. I believe it was the year 1365 when I got my first real master. She was a frail woman, but a strong one at that. Hmm… I think she wanted revenge on her ex-husband for cheating on her. It was very interesting, since the man had fallen in love with a succubus, who was very possessive over him. My mistress had ordered me to kill the succubus, which I did, and she herself killed her husband. It was a very delectable soul.

That's when I specifically hunted for humans with a drive for revenge. It was a couple years later when I met a rather interesting man," Sighing, almost chuckling, Sebastian continued, "He hated a family, specifically a woman who had refused his proposal of holy matrimony. But he didn't want to kill them, or torture them physically. Instead, he made me place a curse. On the one that he used to love, every third born daughter that she has will bear my mark. And I can do whatever I please to her. That is, until she gives birth. After that, the curse is passed down to her third born, and so on. Except I've lost track of them after I got some new masters. And then I met my current master. My experiences are the same as his at this point, so I'd like to avoid repeating the same thing. Thank you."

And with a bow he finished.

And I wanted to punch him.

And kill him.

And scream.

And die.

All at the same time.

Because not only is it my turn to tell my story or past or whatever, but because I learned that the reason why a damn demon cursed my family is because my great-great-something grandma turned down a dude and he couldn't handle a rejection. Wooooowwwww…. I thought it would be, oh I don't know, something a little less frivolous? But noooo, the reason why _I'm _cursed is because _he _just _had to make a stupid contract _with a_ stupid demon. _Who the hell was this man?

"Hey, are you okay Artemis?"

I tuned back to the real world, and saw Rosaline's worried face. I nodded, absentminded, not really seeing anything. If Sebastian lost track of us so long ago, can he still sense me? And if so, why hasn't he done anything? I haven't read anything in his mind that would point to me as being cursed in his perspective, so what?

"Well, c'mon, it's your turn. You're the last one, and we get the Holy Grail," Shanna said, trying to motivate me or something. But I couldn't move yet. I really needed to run, throw Sebastian in a pile of salt, cry, and set that pile of salt on fire. Or do something, anything else than this. If he found out who exactly I was, what would Sebastian do? He sure as hell wouldn't leave me alone, considering what I am is the very object of his obsession.

"Yeah...right…"

Why oh why did I have to be part cat?!

**A/N: Oooohhhhhhhh now whhaaaatttt?! **

**We finally find out what Artemis has been trying to hide from us, and it's this! Oh jeez, Bassy's never gonna let her go. She's part cat! Pfft, she's done for.**

**Yeah I'm pessimistic like that. Deal with it.**


	8. Chapter 8

I was probably getting weird stares from the guys, who were off to the side somewhere, but it didn't matter. I needed to come up with a plan, and fast. I bet they could all hear the thumping in my chest, my erratic breathing, and probably assumed I was nervous or something. But I can't, absolutely could not, tell them about my past. Not all of it, at least. Hopefully the person guarding the grail doesn't know everything about me…

The room we entered this time wasn't as magnificent as the others. It looked like an old, rundown apartment, much like the ones I used to live in with _them _when I was a little kid. But we had moved into houses more recently…

There was furniture as well, like an old green couch I faintly remember about, or the apple shaped clock. There were even pictures lying around, but the faces had been scratched out. It was so nostalgic; it was like I was back in my early childhood. All I needed was my family…

"My birthday is January 8th, 1999. Err… had two older sisters and one younger brother… And, um, you know how you all- or at least most of you guys are half something hybrids?" I paused for a moment, not really expecting an answer as I stared blankly at the stained carpeted floor, "Well, I'm something like that. Except instead of being half human I'm actually only a third. I have the DNA of two other organisms, that being…" Breathe, breathe, don't think about it, "...a cat and...a...dragon. I don't really remember how those people got a hold of me, I was young. And stupid. All I ever saw was other children, being held in cages as well. Most of them died shortly after being experimented on. We were treated like trash, not well-fed, and abused. Some of us were even raped. It was horrible to experience that as an eight year old…" I paused again, wringing out my wrists and still staring at the ground. No one had questioned the part about me being part dragon, which was surprising. Or maybe they're saving the questions for afterwards?

"One day, I was strapped onto a metal table. It was cold. And dirty. I had given up a long time ago. Since I was severely emaciated, I thought that they were going to put me out of my misery. When they filled a needle with a clear liquid, I almost smiled, thinking that it was poison or drugs that were going to kill me. But they didn't stop at my arm. They went up to my face. _And injected it into my eye," _Taking a shaky breath, I realized that my entire being was trembling. My palms were sweating, and I was tugging at my hair without noticing. I stopped and tried to calm down, "It was extremely painful, having it go into my eye slowly, taking its time as if I wasn't screaming. The pain was dulled when it stopped moving, but they had to take it out as well. I honestly thought that my eyeball was going to pop out. But it didn't.

"When they had their backs turned, doing something or whatever, I began to feel really hot. And angry. There was no justification for what they did to me, or to the others. And after that, everything's fuzzy. I can't remember what I did afterwards. But when I did come to, the cages were opened; dead scientists were on the ground. I didn't see any of the other children, so I thought that they had all broken out themselves. Finally going outside after months of imprisonment, I was blinded by the sun. My eye still stung, but not as much as before. So I could focus on all the paramedics, police officers, and fire fighters helping the mutant children. A lot of them were eating, or getting bandages, or receiving some kind of medical treatment. Somebody noticed me, and I was taken care of as well. It was smooth sailing for about two days, trying to find and contact my parents. At first they were happy to talk to me, to see me. That is, until they heard about what I did.

"I didn't know it myself, but according to the others, I had gone on an all-out massacre, killing our wardens. I did manage to tear the cages open without hurting anyone else, though. But after the police officer or detective or whatever explained to my parents what had happened, they stopped calling. They stopped picking up the phone when I tried to call. I think they disowned me a week after. I wasn't surprised really," I shrugged, "Who'd want a daughter with 'magical' powers when they're barely scraping by in the economy? So I've been living on my own since I turned twelve, after I got sick of sharing a room with a detective. And I started working for the president a year ago, I think. Then I met you guys. The end."

Silence.

Slowly gaining the courage to look up, I stared through my thick hair. I tried to see if a door was coming up or not, and I guess the voice knew I had left something out… I mean, it was taking longer than usual…

"Is that all?" It asked. I knew from its tone that _it _knew. About my curse. About it being Sebastian placing that curse. And damn. It. All.

"Andmyfamily'sbeencursedbyademon," I rushed to get it all out, hoping that they didn't catch what I had just said. Technically, the voice never said that I couldn't talk in a way that would make it hard to understand…

"Eh, good enough," The reply came and went before the others had a chance to say anything. The final pair of doors came, this time just being the big slab of rock that we had faced at the beginning. It split in half this time, letting cracks of bright light shine through. Since I wanted to leave as soon as possible, I stepped in first.

The light was disorienting at first, but it dimmed down after a while. There, waiting for us, was a young looking knight, dressed in silver armor, with blond-gold hair flowing freely. Fierce blue eyes settled on top of high cheek bones, and with skin as impeccable as heaven itself, this man was handsome to say the least. He was surrounded by cups, ranging from one extremity to the next.

"Congratulations, travelers," His smile was making me melt, "This is the final and last test. Nominate one of your comrades to chose a chalice or his or her liking, and hope it's the Holy Grail. Otherwise, you will all perish. Please, do take your time. It's been ages since someone has gotten this far."

"So, any volunteers?" Shanna's voice crept from behind.

I turned to face everyone. They looked like they were genuinely trying to figure out which cup was the grail, not the least bit curious about me… Was I overreacting? Did they not hear the last bit? I hated not knowing their thoughts; it was like I was blind or deaf.

But that doesn't mean I can act like a little bitch.

Finally pulling myself together, I straightened out my back. I moved my bangs out of my face, finally seeing the world with both eyes, with no supernatural skills coming into play. Nothing but me, and all of my freakishness.

"I'll go."

Determination and strength returned to my voice. The adults stared at me, presumably at my weird eye. Not really caring anymore, I smiled, "We'll be going home soon."

"Ok, Artemis. Try not to mess up!" Thanks for the optimism Noah.

My eyes swept from one side to the other. I could feel everyone staring, and I tried to not let that get to me. Remembering what some of the sketches had depicted the Holy Grail to look like, I skipped over the ones embroidered with jewels and gems, definitely not the lustrous ones, and it's not any of the silver ones…

Aha!

Claiming the prize, I held it up to my eyes.

It may look like a shitty cup, that was broken, but that was the irony of the Holy Grail. There was old red paint on the sides, turning into sand in one's hands. It was chipped in multiple places, with a large crack on the curve of the bottom. But this was it.

"...Um...Are you sure that's your final choice Artemis?" Rosaline asked, sounding unsure. I nodded.

"Yup. This is it guys. The Holy Grail."

The nameless knight walked up to me, and immediately fell to his knee. This time, when he smiled, I had disintegrated.

"You are correct, maiden," He held the hand that wasn't holding the cup and kissed it. Um...err...I died. Yup. Dead, "Not only are you and your friends free, but I myself have won freedom as well. I thank you, maiden with the name of the goddess of the moon."

The earth trembled once again, and the exit showed us the forest. It seemed to be evening now, with the sky burning a bright orange. What had happened to the storm clouds?

The eight of us walked out like blind men suddenly gaining eyesight. I still held the grail, and the knight was still beside me. Come to think about it, how long was he in there for?

"This is where our paths separate maiden," The knight said, sounding regretful, "I do hope we meet again. Maybe we'll be able to spend more time then."

Before I could utter another word, he left with a kiss on my cheek.

And I exploded.

My ovaries exploded.

I just didn't exist anymore.

That is, on the inside,

Outside, I was probably just a frozen blushing statue. Yup. Just got kissed on the cheek by the most beautiful person in the world. No big deal for a fourteen year old girl. Yup. Yup yup yup yup yup yup.

"Aww, you two are so cute!" GLOMP!

I wasn't prepared for a glomping from two heavy women, so I fell face-forward into the forest ground. I groaned, not satisfied with being pulled out of the high that I was in. Plus the Holy Grail was stabbing me in the stomach, which didn't exactly feel comfortable.

"Get off of me…" I whined, trying to crawl out from underneath them.

"Oh, yeah, sorry," They both said in synchronism, and brushed themselves off after helping me up.

"Let's go," Ciel grumbled with his high-and-mighty accent. I nodded, and we took off.

"Hey, Artemis, I have a question," Shanna asked while we were zooming past trees. I looked at her while trying not to slam into a tree, "What did you say at the end? I didn't catch that part."

"Yeah, I didn't either," Noah began running alongside me, "What was it?"

"Err…" Insert awkward laugh here, "Why so curious now?"

"You looked like you were in a lot of emotional distress," Why oh why, Rosaline, did you have to enter the conversation now? "We didn't want to pry too much back there."

"I think I caught the word 'demon' in her sentence somewhere," DAMN YOU POMPOUS BASTARD DAMN YOU BACK TO HELL.

"Is that so?" I muttered through clenched teeth. Jesus, why can't they just shut up until I'm on the other side of the world?

"I agree with my master," Sebastian's deep voice came from behind, "It did sound like you said 'demon'. Care to explain why?"

Fuck fuck fuck no.

"It doesn't even matter," I tried to play it off, "It's not that important anyways, no need to spend too much time talking about it…"  
"Then why are you making it difficult?" Sebastian, I just want to smash your face in right now…

"Fine! You want to know what I said so badly?" ABORT MISSION. RUN. NOW! "I said that my family hates demons. Pretty obvious since they're Catholic, ya know?"

"Oh," Shanna shook her head, "That makes sense."

No more questions were asked until we got to the car. There I was bombarded since I was stuck inside a tin can with them.

"Do you miss your family?"  
"Do you hate them now?"

"Have you tried contacting them?"  
"Are you Catholic too?"  
Rubbing my temples, I answered, "No, no, no, and no. Now please stop. I'm getting a migraine."

"How do you not hate them?" Shanna inquired, hanging from the back of her seat, "I mean, they disowned you. At eight years old! You didn't do anything wrong…"

Sighing, I leaned my head against the window, "Maybe not, but I did act dangerously. They were scared for their safety, as well as my other siblings' well-being. It was best for everyone."

"How can you defend them, after they've abandoned you?" Trayvon murmured.

"Just 'cause," I answered simply.

"Because…?"

"They're my family."

**A/N: And that's the end of the Holy Grail arc. Or mission. Or whatever it's called.**

**So we learned about Artemis's back ground, family, etc. But who was that knight? Will he be coming back…? I'm not sure. Maybe. Probably. **

**Will Artemis be able to go back home without trouble? Heh, maybe… maybe not…**

**Don't forget to review! Let's be friends, k?**


	9. Chapter 9

We finally sent Her Majesty the Holy Grail. My mission was complete. There was no more need for me to be here anymore. And I sure as hell wanted to leave.

I don't think that Sebastian believed me when I said 'My family hates demons' because it's rather difficult to be _completely _alone with myself now. I can sense him three feet away from my bedroom, or office, or he'll just follow me with the excuse of 'I have duties as a Phantomhive butler blah blah blah' and ugh! I even had a glimpse into his mind recently, and he suspects me of being part of the family he cursed all those years ago. I mean, I _am, _but still! And the weirdest part is that I also sensed jealousy from him each time Shanna or Rosaline so much as breathe a word about the nameless knight we met in the woods. It's as if he already owns me or something. I mean, he kind of does, but still!

Growling as I was packing up my suitcase, I made sure everything was in place, that I wasn't missing anything… I would be damned if I left anything of mine here.

I had just opened the door, with everything in tow, when I came face to face with the butler. I mentally kicked myself. I just had to be soooo preoccupied that I couldn't even sense him. Idiot!

"Errrm… can I help you? I'm kind of in a hurry you know. Gotta get back home…" I rocked back and forth on my feet, trying to not flee from the manor.

"Yes, this will only take a second," Stepping in my bedroom and closing the door, Sebastian faced me again. I dropped my suitcases onto the floor, resisting the urge to fly out here like a bat out of hell.

"Okay," I tried to not let my voice show how nervous I was, "What is it?"

"Show me your gloved hand."

"No way in hell," I retorted, maybe a bit too quickly.

"Why not? Surely there isn't something you're trying to hide from me… Pet," He smirked, thinking he won or some shit like that. I scowled, pretending to act like I have no idea what he's talking about.

"Excuse me? Did you just call me _pet_?" I sneered, "To think, that the Phantomhive butler would act so impolitely. I am shocked. _Shocked. _Now if you don't mind, I gotta get back to America."

I tried to shove past him, but he grabbed my arm with supernatural strength. Now I'm fucked. And that was a stupid move. Why am I being an idiot today?!

"It's the way one talks to his pet. You know, the thing he owns, can and will keep for the rest of eternity," Sebastian's smirk grew, "You don't have to pretend anymore. I know the truth. Just show me your hand and it's a done deal."

I glared lasers at him, "A no means no. A proper butler would respect a lady's wishes."

"But you're no lady, now are you?" He made a move to grab my hand, and I moved it away, as far as possible. He glared, I glared. We all glared.

"You're going to make me miss my plane. Now. Let. Me. Go," I growled in his face.

"As you wish, my lady," With an evil glint in his red eyes, Sebastian let go of my left arm. But he spun me around, with my back to him. I tried to run, to transform into my cat or dragon form, but his arms constricted me, one squeezing my waist and the other holding down my chest. And it just haaaad to be right in the middle of my chest. Can anyone say pedophilia?

"I said let me go, you damn demon!" I yelled, screamed, and squirmed in his arms. I was hoping that one of the Queen's animals was going to; oh I don't know, come in and check what all the commotion was about? But nobody came. I was considering transforming into a cat, since a dragon would destroy half of the manor and I didn't want to smush anyone.

"Now let's see what you're hiding under here," Before he could grab the buckle to my glove, I transformed into a longhair black cat. With white blotches here and there. But I guess he was expecting that, because he just fixed his hold on me to accustom my new form, "What a troublemaker you are. But such soft fur," Nuzzling into the back of my neck, I began hissing, clawing, basically anything a cat could do to stop something.

"Now, now, be a good girl and turn back human for your master, Artemis. I just need to see your hand for a moment, I promise. Then you can go back to being a cat. In fact, I much prefer this form of yours," What a creep! His voice turned dark, and persuasive, and just so damn high and mighty like that other pompous bastard.

"And just so you know, it's just me and you here today. Everyone else went out to buy you parting gifts, so they'll be gone for some time. Which will be useless since I cancelled your ticket," He whispered in my furry ear before biting it. I hissed again, and growled. This idiot cancelled my ticket?! What is the president going to think! He's expecting me at a certain time, and if I'm late, some things may lead to another and...Well things can get ugly.

"Don't worry, no need to fret," Ugh, feeling this creep's nose slide along my head made me want to puke, "I called in for you. You now work for the English division for your precious president. You won't be going back to America any time soon. They'll even send in the rest of your possessions here. Isn't that nice?"

This. Fucker. Just. Fucked. With. My. Life.

_I'm going to kill him._

I took my time transforming back to my human form. But I didn't go all the way. Just up to the point where only ears and tail were showing. If he wanted to see my hand so damn much, fine. But there'll be hell to pay.

"Good girl," He murmured, reaching for my glove. He pulled off the leather to see the pentagram, the same one on Ciel's eye, the same one on his left hand. I'm not sure if I heard a sigh of relief or what, but either way he made some kind of sound.

Sebastian took my hand and kissed the pentagram. It began to burn, but I bit my lip to keep from crying out. Just a bit longer…

"You're my pet. You do not belong to anyone else but me. Let anyone touch you, and I will not only kill him, but you will be punished as well," He turned my body so that I had no choice but to look at him, to stare in those crimson eyes, those damn eyes, "In fact, I must punish you right now. The way you acted with that knight, like a lovesick school girl, was unacceptable. Do you know what you made me feel, kitten?" Sebastian lifted my bangs out of my face, uncovering my reptilian eye, "It made me want to lock you up in a room, only accessible to me, no one else. _You are mine."_

Right when he began to lean into me, I noticed that his arms rested on my hips. I smirked at his mistake.

I once again changed into a cat, which caught him off guard. I landed on the floor and scampered out of the window. Midair, I began to turn into my dragon self. Good luck trying to catch me now, dick.

When my feet landed on the ground, it caused an earthquake. My black claws dug trenches into the dirt. I made sure that my long, thick tail didn't crash into the house. Extending my neck, Sebastian looked like a meager ant compared to new size. With smoke coming out of my nostrils, white scales glistening in the sunlight, and leathery wings ready to take flight, I was truly a sight to behold. The underside of my belly and neck was an emerald green, and both of my eyes were now blue-green. I smirked at Sebastian, showing off my razor sharp teeth.

Good thing we were in the middle of nowhere. I can do whatever I want to this demon without hurting anyone.

"Oh, so you weren't joking then?" Sebastian was suddenly on the roof of the manor, which was roughly about eye level with me. He still had that stupid smirk on him, and I couldn't wait to burn it off of his face. Literally, "You really can turn into a dragon. My, what a fine pet I have. I am truly lucky to have contracted that man all those years ago."

I roared, tired of hearing him use such a degrading name for me. He jumped from the roof and I used the opportunity to spit fire at him. The blue fire I breathed out hit him, and I was elated.

That is, until I realized that he wasn't even there anymore.

I swiveled my head to the right and left, up and down. I lowered it near the ground, to see if he was hiding underneath the trees or something. I snorted. Where the hell is he?

"I'm right here, my precious."

DAMN YOU!  
I shook my head vigorously until I felt his weight slip. I tried to snatch him with my mouth, but before I could chomp on him, he was gone. Dammit. Why does he have to be so damn fast?!

"You should turn back into your human form, Artemis," His suave voice rang everywhere, and I couldn't pinpoint where. Above? Below? Where?! "That's an order."

My body didn't comply with my thoughts anymore. After Sebastian demanded it, I painfully turned back into a human girl. On my knees, I was trembling from the sudden change in form. Having your bones grow, shrink, and switch places was not exactly a walk in the park. I'm always extremely lethargic afterwards, so when I felt hands on my back I couldn't help but lash out at them. Sebastian looked down at my pitiful form, with eyes that made _him _look like a disgusted god. Hah!

"Don't… do not… touch me," I breathed through my pants, trying to ease the pain. I can't believe I lost to him! I can't serve this, this _thing. _

And I don't have to.

Or at least, not for long… According to that shinigami, I'm due to die soon. But when?

I think Sebastian made another move to touch me when I heard a feminine voice screaming my name. I wasn't sure if it was Shanna, or Rosaline, or both, but it was getting closer.

"Oh my god Artemis, what happened?!"

"Sebastian, explain."

With commotion going on above me, I shut my eyes, and hid my hands. I tried to not focus on the aching in every bone in my body, but rather on the voices.

"...She's your _what?!"_ Shanna screamed out, almost making my ears bleed.

"My pet, to put it quite simply. She bears my mark."

Sebastian went on to continue that I was going to stay here, with them, from now on. He told them everything he told me. The only thing that followed was silence.

"So… she… caused this much destruction? As a dragon?" Rosaline asked.

"Yes."

"Well, whatever. We should at least get her into the house. The poor girl's shaking!" I could feel the change in the air when Shanna bent down, and I was quick to respond.

"Please...don't touch me… it still hurts…" I whimpered, sounding even more pathetic.

"What hurts, sweetie?" Rosaline's smooth voice reached my ears

"Everything…" I muttered, gaining back some of my strength, "It… happens...when I turn… into a human… too quickly…"

"You guys can head inside," Shanna's voice sounded farther away. Maybe she stood up? "We'll help out with Artemis."

"If anything, it should be me who-"

"Yeah, she's not going to like that Sebastian," Shanna interrupted, "She's had a long day, give her some time."

And with a couple of shuffling feet, I was alone with the two other women. The pain was slowly inching away, and they waited patiently. It took some time before I could breathe without it hurting. I looked up at them, with my big brown and blue-green eye. I still hid my cursed hand, and stayed quiet.

"Are you feeling better?" Rosaline asked, being careful to not touch me.

"Physically, yes," I muttered, "Mentally, no."

"Do you think you can stand up?" Shanna whispered, not shouting like her usual self. I nodded, and weakly got up to my feet, wobbling a bit.

With my agreement, they both held onto one of my arms, and led me back to my room. Rosaline was holding my left one while Shanna took care of my right. I warily made my way through the house, making sure_ he_ wasn't there. I couldn't really wrap my mind around what had just happened. I was _so close. _So damn close to going home and probably not seeing these people again. I should've taken the opportunities I had and left. But it's too late now. The only solution to this is...Dying.

After making myself comfortable in the bed, I stared at Shanna and Rosaline. They stared back, trying to formulate their thoughts into words. I gave them time, even though I just wanted to sleep for the rest of my life. I mean, if they know this much about me already, why not tell them everything?

"How long did you know about...that?" Rosaline eyed my hand, which was clenched into a fist. The pentagram went back to its original dark hue, but it was still throbbing. Trying not to lie, I took a deep breath.

"I knew my family was cursed my entire life. I didn't know who the demon was until recently," Telling the whole truth was weird…

"So everything Sebastian said was true? Like how you're his and all that?" Shanna asked, already knowing the answer.

"I guess so," I shrugged, "I didn't ask much about it when I was still with my family, and I never got the chance to do so."

"There isn't anything you can do? To free yourself, I mean," Oh, I see where this is going…

"Not that I know of. Other than dying. Or having kids. Which I don't want to do."

Rosaline pursed her lips, and Shanna seemed deep in thought. I was too tired to even think about venturing into their minds, so I focused on not closing my eyes for too long.

"I know you're not exactly in the best of terms with them," Rosaline began, "But why not give your parents a call, see if they know of a way."

I snorted, "As if they'd want to help me."

"But lots of time has passed. Maybe they miss you."

"Maybe not," I retorted to the blonde.

"You never know until you try," Shanna pressed on.

"I don't have to try."

"Dammit Artemis," Rosaline cursed for the first time I was here. Whoa, "I don't want to see you spend the rest of your remaining time here with us as a prisoner. I remember Grell telling us that you were going to die soon, and fuck it you're going to live as if you're going to die tomorrow. So call your family, _now, _to see if there's a way to free yourself. Got it?"

Wide eyed, I nodded slowly. Shanna handed me the phone, and I tried to remember the phone number that I haven't dialed in over six years.

"Hello?" A male voice answered. My throat began to close up, realizing it was my little brother. He was so young when I last saw him…

"Jeancarlo? Is that you?" Dammit, don't cry now!

"Uh, yeah. Who is this?"

I shook my head, as if he could see me, "It doesn't matter. Are your parents home?"

"Yeah, hold on."

I faintly heard footsteps on the other side of the line, and I was growing anxious. Would they hang up? Yell at me?

"_Allo?"_ _**Hello?**_

I swallowed thickly, "_Hola, mami." __**Hi, mom.**_

"_...Artemis?" _

"_Si soy yo," __**Yes it's me, **__"Tengo una pregunta." __**I have a question.**_

"_Ay, mi hija!" __**My daughter! **__"Te extrano tanto! Perdoname, me equivoque al dejarte asi!"__** I missed you so much! I was wrong to leave you!**_

My eyes watered to the point where everything looked blurry, and it was getting hard to breathe. Before I could speak, my mother continued.

"_Por favor, vuelve a la casa. Yo quiero mi hija…" __**Please come back home. I want my daughter...**_

"_No puedo," __**I can't, **__"Estoy en un problema," __**I'm in trouble.**_

"_Que paso?" __**What happened?**_

"_Es que-" __**It's that-**_

"_Dios mio, es el diablo. Te encontro, no?" __**My god, it's the devil. He found you, didn't he?**_

_"Si…" __**Yes, **__"Yo quería saber si hay una manera de libera me," __**I wanted to know **__**if there was a way to free myself.**_

___"...Yo no estoy seguro," __**I'm not sure, **__"Tu abuelita tenía un libro, pero yo no se donde esta," __**You're grandmother had a book, but I don't know where it is, "**__Regresas a la casa, tal vez usted le puede encontrar," __**Come back to the house, maybe you can find it.**_

__Sighing, I closed my eyes. How exactly am I supposed to sneak back to America? As much as I'd like to see my family again, would I want Sebastian tailing me?

Feeling like she had nothing more important information about the book she mentioned before, I decided to end the call. She ended with another suggestion to come home, that my father misses me, as do my siblings. I responded that I had to take care of some things first, but I'd call her soon. I could feel hungry eyes when I hung up, and I quickly explained.

"See! They do miss you!" Shanna said optimistically, with a bright smile.

"I just wonder how you're going to go to America without Sebastian finding out," Rosaline whispered, deep in thought.

I didn't really care at that moment. My family _did _care about me! For the past couple years, I had felt like they didn't want me, like trash. I was just happy enough with that information. And I wanted to sleep.

Which I did, after sending Shanna and Rosaline out of my room.

**A/N: Whooaaaa. Dragons do exist!**

**Yeah that was the only thing I was excited about. Bassy finds his long-lost pet? Eh. That pet happens to be Artemis? That's cool.**

**But add a dragon in there and BOOM! You got my undivided attention.**

**I kinda need to get my priorities straight. :P **

**And I love how you guys freaked out about Artemis being a Neko. Your reviews made me smile and laugh so much that my little brother asked me if I was ok.**

**We all know I'm not.**


	10. Chapter 10

Birds chirping, the smell of fresh rain, and a couple rumbles of soft thunder woke me up. My eyelids slowly propped open, still trying to hold onto the sweet sensation of sleep. I stretched out my arms, feeling some joints crack. Luckily nothing was aching too much, and I was thankful for that.

I had just let out a long yawn, similar to that of a kitten, when heavy arms snaked their way around my torso. Groaning, I mentally cursed my groggy state. Ugh, I hate not being a morning person. If only I could snap wide awake and energetic every morning…

"Good morning, my little kitten," Sebastian's voice vibrated along my back, giving me shivers of disgust. I tried to struggle my way out of his embrace, but he held me tightly, "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah," I answered, "I was having an awesome dream. Until you came along and woke me up."

"How unfortunate," Was he sniffing my hair?! "But I came with a gift for you."

Something clicked around my neck. I looked down, but couldn't see anything other than my usual golden necklace. So I squirmed over until I saw my reflection in the mirror, and almost screamed.

"YOU PUT A FUCKING COLLAR ON ME?!" I yelled, immediately reaching to snatch it off of me.

"Oh, no you don't," And there goes my control over my arms. Damn prick…

"I am not going to wear this like some kind of animal," I growled at his reflection. His eyes shimmered in the dim light.

"You're more animal than human," He mumbled, still stuffing his face in my bird's nest of hair, "You said so yourself."

"Not in those words."

"All the same," I could feel him smirk, "Did you know that you have a beautiful scent?"

"Creep…" I muttered under my breath.

"What was that?" His tone took a dangerous turn, and I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

"Oh nothing," I chuckled awkwardly, avoiding his gaze.

Suddenly we had switched positions, with his weight on top of me. I wasn't being squished, but I could feel every contour of his body.

"Tell me," His eyes went all glowy-glowy, and I swallowed, "That's an order."

"I called you a creep," I automatically responded. Damn you…

"Is that so," His gloved hand moved my bangs to the side, "I'll need to teach you proper manners. Since you serve under me, you shall call me Master. Which is an order, by the way."

"Hah! You thought," I tried to stop myself, but I ended up choking out, "Master."

"Very good," Stupid smirk, I want to smash you onto the other side of his head, "Now let's go get you in the bath. I need to take good care of you. I won't neglect you like your family did."

At the mention of my family, I scowled. And growled. My family never neglected me, you stupid demon. You don't know anything about them.

"Like hell you are," I pushed at his chest, but due to that stupid fight we had yesterday, my strength was failing me. I was like a stupid butterfly bumping against an oak tree. That's right-fucking weak as fuck.

"I didn't realize you were so eager," In a swift motion he had picked me up and was carrying me to the bathroom. The dooming truth was beginning to sink in my mind, and for the first time I was afraid. Is Sebastian really going through with this? He's going to see me naked! I've never been… that intimate with a dude before, supernatural being or not.

"No, no, no!" I began screaming and reaching out for something that could stop any movement to the bath tub. I tried holding onto the door frame, but Sebastian made me let it go. He stopped in front of the pearly white coffin, and paused. My heart was beating like crazy, there were tight knots in my stomach, and I was in pure fear and embarrassment.

"No need to be so resistant. It's just water," As if that was cause for my concern!

"Yeah but you're here," I squeaked out in a small voice.

"So?" His breath was tickling my ear, "I'll see and know every part of you after all, you are my pet."

"You know…" Yay! Let's stall time until someone walks in. Hopefully somebody does… "There's this thing called pedophilia. And it totally applies to you since you're like, a billion years old or something, and I'm only fourteen."

And unfortunately that didn't work. Sebastian had proceeded to unbutton the first couple on the top that weren't already undone. I tried closing the gap between the cloth, but he still continued downward to the point where he was finished.

"Okay, okay, I'll take a bath," I talked quickly, "But can't I take one by myself, Master?"

Sebastian didn't respond right away, nor did he proceed to undress me. So I looked up, and he looked like he zoned out. I glanced side to side, not knowing what to do. Was this my chance to run away?

Before I could move, my feet met the cold bathroom floor. Still clutching at my shirt, I stared at Sebastian, who was as still as a rock. Um… what was going on?

"Take a bath," He muttered before walking out of the room, looking stiff.

What the hell just happened?

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~=^.^=~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

After closing the bedroom door, I slid down to the carpeted ground. My gloved hands hid my face, and I was currently trying to control myself before it got out of hand. Just thinking about what I _saw_… I can't even begin to explain.

Leaving my pet, with her looking like _that, _makes me want to take her now. The picture of her blushing face, of her open blouse that she was so desperately trying to close, made me almost go demonic. If she's as old as she says she is, Artemis is _very _well endowed for a fourteen year old girl.

Why didn't I take everything from her right then and there? I regret the decision now, but I guess it was because I want to take my time with her, to ravish and savor her taste, not rush into it. And I didn't expect her to look like that…

Recovering, I stood back up and smoothed out my uniform. My own Master was calling for me, in his office.

I knocked, and entered when I was given the permission to do so. My Master was seated behind his wooden desk, with papers littering the surface.

"You called, my Lord?" I asked.

"Yes," His blue eye stared at me, "It seems we have another mission from Her Majesty. Go gather everyone in the living room, I'll explain there."

After he dismissed me, I went room to room, informing the various hybrids of my Master's request. I made my way back to my pet's room, and was about to enter before the door opened. There she was, my perfect little pet. Soon, I will have you completely…

"Come now," I smiled, "My Master requests everyone's presence in the living room."

We walked downstairs together, and she was abnormally quiet. Usually she'd make a sarcastic or snide remark. But Artemis didn't even say anything about the collar I forced on her, which can only be removed by me. Surely she realized that, right? Then why isn't she begging me to take it off?

I was about to ask if she was feeling alright, but we had already made it to the others. And since I didn't feel liked dealing with the overprotective females, I stayed quiet. My Lord waited for Artemis to sit before beginning.

"I just received word from Her Majesty about a new case. We are needed in an academy, but this one not only for humans. It also consists of different supernatural beings. that attend classes at night Apparently the vampires are under attack from outside forces, and they don't have enough security to protect everyone without arousing suspicion. So that's where we come in. We will protect the vampires and figure out what exactly is putting them in danger, and put the attacks to a stop. We will be leaving in three days. Questions?"

Oh, vampires. It's been ages since I've last seen one. And she was great in bed.

"Is there a cover story that we have to follow?" Noah asked.

"Yes. The older ones, which are you, Rosaline, Shanna, Trayvon, me, and Sebastian will be 'teachers' for the Moon Classes, as they've named it. Artemis, you'll be posing as one of the students for these classes, since you're younger," My Master explained.

"So I'll have to be around a bunch of blood-sucking vampires?" Artemis inquired, arching a perfect eyebrow, "Cool."

My eyes narrowed a bit. Cool? She considers vampires to be cool? They're not even powerful demons! And why does she decide to talk now? Just because it's about vampires? I'm going to have to be careful with her, or else some leech may try to take her away.

But they can't.

"Your uniform should come soon," My Lord stood up, "Be sure to wear it when we get there."

He exited the room, but not before giving me the order to make lunch for the half humans. I had just left the room when they began talking.

"Hey Artemis," Noah said, sounding quite curious, "Shouldn't you be in high school by now?"

"I already graduated college," She exclaimed, sounding proud, "I had graduated high school when I was almost eleven."

"Oh, wow," Shanna gasped, "You graduated early! Like, really early!"

"Yeah, I didn't really go to middle school much. I think I might've stayed there for a couple months before transferring grades so many times I ended up becoming a freshman."

I decided to leave before they sensed my presence, and left to begin cooking. While I was stirring the sauce, I realized something.

Artemis hasn't eaten anything since she got here. And that won't do. I refuse to let the best pet I've had to die of starvation.

And I cooked with renewed vigor, making sure that not even she will be able to resist.

**A/N: Yay, a new case! And a possessive Sebastian! AND ARTEMIS IN A UNIFORM!?**

** Yeah, Artemis isn't all that excited about wearing a uniform, something about not being able to express her individuality or something. Guess she won't be wearing boots any time soon. *Cries***

**Have you guys seen the first four episodes of Kuroshitsuji: Book of Circus? I was kinda hoping they'd continue where the second season left off, buuuuuttt that's not the case. *Sigh***


	11. Chapter 11

I was having a pretty decent conversation with everyone before a mouth-watering aroma filled the room. It made everyone shut up for a good minute. And it made me actually want to eat. Which is saying a lot.

It was a tortuous half hour, waiting for the call that would signal that the food was ready to eat. Stomachs growled for the first time I was here, and mine was faintly rumbling when Sebastian invited us over for lunch. We made our way to the dining room and almost trampled one another trying to a seat. Everyone was fidgeting, salivating, hell even I couldn't sit still. I didn't even care I'd be in the same room as Sebastian, just as long as I got food.

He finally came out with a trolley, and I swear you could feel the anticipation from everybody fill the room to the brim. I haven't had this in forever…

Giving the first plate to Noah, Sebastian unveiled every Hispanics dream food: Tacos! And pupusas! He even had tamales! Where the hell is the _chile_ and _cafe_?! I need some_ limon_ dammit. And this wasn't some crappy English food either, these were legit, like the ones you'd see at the restaurant behind the gas station legit. And only a couple people would understand that part…

I thanked the high heavens for Sebastian's ability to cook anything. Or should I thank the depths of hell since he's a demon? Oh who cares, the last time I had this much Hispanic food was when I was still in America. And I won't be going back there anytime soon, too.

Before I stuffed my face Sebastian just haaaaaaaad to explain to the others the beautiful masterpiece he had just created.

"Today's lunch consists of beef tacos with pico de gallo, lettuce, and corn tortillas. You will also find the tamales to be exceptional, being made with maseca, various vegetables, and chicken. The pupusas are tortillas filled with a mix of chicken and pork, with red and green bell peppers complimenting the flavors. And finally, to drink, I've prepared horchata from scratch. I do hope you'll find this to your liking."

It was weird hearing the ingredients in English instead of Spanish, but it gave me a chance to compose myself. I didn't want to look too eager, else he use it against me later on. So I poked at my tamale, to see if it was too soft. Which it wasn't. Then I stabbed my pupusa, to see if it had a slight crunch. Which it did. And I just had to glance at the taco to know it was perfect.

I finally cut out a piece of my pupusa, and took a small bite. And damn, it was delicious. As much as I'd hate to admit it, it definitely did take me back. Back to those days where I could just walk into my local ghetto with fellow Hispanics and feel at home. It made me feel...nostalgic? It was like taking a bite from my past.

"Wow, this is amazing, Sebastian!" Shanna exclaimed, unable to restrain herself anymore. It was funny, watching the others eat their share. It was like they've never eaten this type of food before.

"Thank you," He put a gloved hand on his chest and bowed.

"But what would we know," Noah talked with his mouth full, "We've only eaten English food. The true critic is Artemis."

They all looked at me, then my plate, which wasn't touched all that much. I swallowed the food in my mouth and replied with, "It's good."

It was a total lie. And a total understatement.

The rest of lunch continued on without a hitch, and I could just feel Sebastian's smirk aimed at me the entire time. I barely managed to swallow the last bit of my taco without choking. Maybe the collar was on too tight? Ha, yeah, sure…

I was going to slip through into my office to be alone, but when I turned around to face my desk, Sebastian was sitting there in my chair. And right before I could even touch the door knob, his command was sounded.

"Don't even think about leaving the room."

I glared at the door, hoping that it would catch fire or something. It took most of my willpower to not punch a hole through the wood.

Or to punch a hole in that stupid demon's face.

"Is that an order, _Master?"_ I growled. Man, I hate him. Can he go back to Hell with Ciel and never come back? It would make my life so much easier.

"Yes," I heard shuffling, "Now come here, _pet."_

Mentally killing him in my head a million and one different ways, I walked in front of my desk, scowl in place. Did he have to be a total ass hat about everything?

"Did you need something Master?" If only words could kill, half of the world's population would be gone. In the worst way possible.

"Yes; we need to talk," His gloved hand gestured to the chair meant for _my _guests, but what the fuck, I'm cursed. So I plopped down in the cushioned chair, and crossed my legs. My hands were covered by the sleeves of my over-sized sweater, so you couldn't see them sweating. Whenever I hear those words, 'We need to talk', I start to panic. Did I do something wrong?

"Please speak then Master," I said while playing with a random piece of black wool from my sweater. Dammit, it sounded like we were in some sort of S&M relationship. Or do I just have a really perverted mind?

"What was with your behavior earlier today?" Sebastian began, not even looking at me. Which then caused me to pull on the sleeves of my sweater. His wine colored eyes stared at my hands, following the ministrations. I automatically stopped.

"Did I do something that displeased you, Master?" Answering a question with another question-I'm pretty sure he hated it when people did that.

He grunted, not answering. Instead he closed his eyes, and drew his hand to his forehead, as if he was getting a headache or something. Can he get a headache?

"I am the one person who is allowed to know you, past, present, or whatever. I am the only one who can touch you, talk to you intimately, dress you. You belong to me, and me only. I don't appreciate you withholding information about yourself from me. So, starting now, you cannot speak to anyone other than myself. You have to understand that you are _mine, _and I can do what I want," Sebastian's signature smirk came back, and I could feel that something bad was going to happen, "Like this."

With a flick of his wrist, my body had moved without my consent, and I was suddenly standing in front of Sebastian. With no time to react, I couldn't stop him and before I knew it-

His lips crushed mine in a bruising kiss. I tried to keep my mouth closed, to breathe through my nose, but his eyes reopened to show me his demonic irises, which sent me a silent command, which was, to put quite plainly, 'Open'.

And dammit my mouth did open, which then allowed his tongue to invade. It brushed past my teeth and flicked against my fangs. I tried to bite him, but that resulted in Sebastian grabbing my jaw and forcing it even wider. My eyes began to tear up from the slight pain, and I was gagging against his tongue. Which was really long. And gross. It was like a monster, and I couldn't fight against it no matter how hard I tried.

The kiss-if you could call it that-finally finished. Sebastian didn't let my face go, but he did let me to pull back a bit. He examined my watery eyes, then stared at my lips. They were wet with our saliva, and a bit was rolling down. Eww.

But what was even grosser was the fact that Sebastian licked it away. And I couldn't move an inch. The fact that I couldn't even control my own body, let alone my life and the path I walk from today onward, had finally sunk in. Sebastian won't let me commit suicide. He won't let the shinigami collect my soul. I'll be kept alive, against my will, and be forced to serve this man-er, I mean demon forever.

It looked like this was going to be a sad and pathetic life. And it's gonna be even worse if I do manage to die and go to Hell. Sebastian's probably gonna be there as well, waiting to order me to turn into a cat to sit in his lap.

Is it too late to go to Heaven?

Sebastian chuckled, bringing me back to my predicament. I glared at him again, "I did not realize that this was your first time kissing, kitten. I would have made it last longer."

"Yeah, yeah," I struggled to speak with my face still in his hand, "What's it to ya, Master? How the Hell did you find out?"

"It's a little gift demons have," Sebastian smirked at my struggle, "I can also tell that you're a virgin."

"And why do you sound surprised by that fact? I'm only fourteen."

"Not surprised," He leaned in, "Relieved. Nobody has defiled my pet before I could get to you."

Which means… "And what exactly do you plan on doing to me?" I asked, dreading the answer. Please don't be a pervert, please don't be a pervert, please don't be a pervert…

"Easy. There are many words for what I want to do to you, maybe when you're older. But it's all the same really; sex," He said it so, so, _casually. _I cringed when Sebastian caressed my cheek, "Although, I don't know how long I'll be able to hold back. You are very tempting."

As if emphasize on this, the Crow demon kissed me again, albeit not as rough as before. His lips lingered on mine for a couple moments before finally letting me go. I'm sure my face is bruised by now, with marks from Sebastian's fingers, and my lips feel swollen. I never thought that my first kiss would've gone like this.

"Hey Artemis!" Shanna burst into my office without knocking, and I suddenly realized that I was sitting behind my desk, and Sebastian was no where in sight. So, he left. Prick, "Lets go have a girls night out!"

I tried to reply with an 'absolutely not', but I couldn't speak. And I remembered the order that Sebastian gave me, the one about not being able to speak to anyone other than him. Which means I couldn't even talk to Shanna, or explain what was going on. Hopefully she won't misinterpret this…

"Hey are you okay?" Her caramel eyes widened, probably assessing my pink eyes and bruised face, "Did Sebastian do something to you?"

I looked around my desk and found a pen and notepad. I quickly scribbled down what had happened, minus the kiss. If she knew that, Shanna and Rosaline would have Sebastian's ass.

Handing the note to her, Shanna glared at the paper. Then smoothed out her features with a really creepy smile, that said, 'I totally want to kill that stupid ass demon but I'm going to hold back because you told me to'.

"Well, you don't need to talk to have fun! Lets go shopping, watch a movie, and go pig out!" Shanna grabbed my hand, and I really wanted to hit my face. How could I forget something so important?

_Hey Shanna, _I directed my thoughts to her head, and watched her body stiffen from the foreign voice in her head, _It's me, Artemis. Sorry, I kinda forgot that I could do this. But I don't think Sebastian's gonna let me go out with you and Rosaline. He's getting a lot more possessive over me._

"Is that so?" Shanna didn't stop jogging to my room, where she promptly sat me on my bed and barged into my walk in closet, picking out tops and bottoms, "Well, he's gotta learn that he doesn't own you completely."

She pulled out a dangerously short black crop top that was in the back of the closet. It was ripped, with a picture of the moon and was incredibly tight on me. Quickly following that was a pair of waist high leather shorts. Why did I pack these…?

"Here; Wear this," She tossed it to me, and I caught it.

_I thought we were just going to the movies? _I timidly played with the cotton. As if Sebastian would let me go out, wearing this.

"And see the town!" Shanna was pulling off my clothes, getting fed up with my stalling, "You've never left the States, correct? So go look at some cute guys, see Big Ben, and enjoy tonight!" She suddenly broke off, and stared at my sweater before forcing me to take it off. I crossed my arms over my chest, not liking the cold air, "You don't know how much longer you'll be here, after all."

Ah. So that's where this is coming from. I smiled, and pulled the top over my head, taking off my pants and replacing it with the shorts. Standing up, I laced my boots, and faced Shanna.

_So let's go live life to the fullest._

**A/N: Yay, super depressed and unsure Artemis! She just learned that she'll become Sebastian's bitch for the rest of eternity. Not sure if that's a good or bad thing. What do you guys think?**


	12. Chapter 12

Once Shanna and Rosaline were ready, we walked down the grand staircase, discussing where to go first. The sun was beginning to set, and even though winter was just around the corner, we had all still dressed in the shortest things we owned. I even wore some makeup and jewelry.

It was only when we heard a small 'Ahem' when we realized that the males of the house were standing at the foot of the stairs. I avoided Sebastian's gaze, not wanting to face what was surely wrath and perverseness. Like an old man lecherous rape face. And Sebastian has one of the creepiest rape faces ever. In history.

"Er, hey guys," Shanna greeted when her feet met the ground floor. I automatically hid behind Rosaline, knowing Sebastian wouldn't fuck with her.

"Where're you guys going?" Noah asked, running a hand through his Christian Bale hair.

"Out to see the sights, maybe go to a few stores. You know, a girls night out," Rosaline explained.

"Oh, well we'll be going out too," Trayvon interjected, voluntarily for once.

"Cool, so a guys night out?" Shanna didn't sound like she wanted an answer, instead it was like that moment before a storm hit. I began inching away, ever so slowly, to the nearest exit. You know, before the black hole consisted of dark auras sucked me in.

"Yeah," Noah replied. I looked behind myself to see that the window was only a few feet away. Just a little bit more…

"Is Artemis going with you?" And the voice came from in front of me, which then caused me to jump back and yelp from his creepy face. I landed on my butt, which gave me the excuse to not look at his sparkling being. And I wasn't joking about the sparkles either. They were flying about all over the room, and I knew that those were a warning before my impending death.

Yup. Death by a sparkling fuck-face demon.

"Yes, she is," Voices of steel came from above, and I was lifted from my seating on the ground. Rosaline and Shanna each held an arm, and walked out the front door. I was preparing for the sinister and insidious feeling that was Sebastian's aura before he killed someone, but it never came. We made it to a silver Porsche safely, and we managed to squeeze in, with me in the middle. Rosaline started the car and we left the grounds in a few minutes.

The music coming from the radio was having a calming effect on me, and I stared out at the dark scenery, wondering where we were going first. It was weird, going out with other girls. But also exciting. I've never had this experience before, not even with my older sisters. It was a nice change of pace.

I zoned out for a bit, and finally focused again when the car came to a stop in front of a vintage looking restaurant. As the two women made their way outside, I stared around, wide-eyed, not having been in this part of town before. And thanks to my uncontrollable talents, random thoughts were popping in and out when we entered.

_Damn, they're hot._

_I wonder if she has a boyfriend._

_She's thick!_

Wrinkling my nose at some of the more perverted thoughts, I sat down at the counter next to Shanna. She handed me a menu, and I sifted through, wondering what sounded good to me.

"A-are you ready to order?" I looked up and saw a tall and lanky looking fellow, with light brown eyes and hair to match. He had some acne, and really big glasses, the kind that seem to be popular nowadays. His hand was shaking over a small notepad, and his inner voice made its way into my head.

_Oh god oh god. I hope I don't do anything stupid. They're really attractive, and the shorter one's definitely around my age. I wonder if she goes to my school? Probably not, I would've noticed her if she had-_

"Yeah, I'll have the fish and chips with a vanilla milkshake," Rosaline softly ordered. The boy quickly scribbled it down and looked at Shanna.

"Um… I'd like a hamburger with a chocolate shake," Shanna put her menu back in a pile.

"And… you?" His brown eyes met mine for a moment before flicking away, a light blush coloring his cheeks.

"Mmm..." I wasn't really reading anything, the words just didn't process in my mind. I was distracted by the other voices in my head, making it sound like I was in an extremely crowded hallway, with everyone talking at once. Plus, I wasn't really sure how I was going to place an order if I _**can't fucking talk.**_

_Uh, guys, help! Girl who can't talk here!_

"She'll have the chicken Caesar salad with a strawberry lemonade," Shanna butted in quickly, and the waiter stuttered a bit more before leaving. I rubbed my temples, trying to separate my thoughts from others.

"Sorry, we forgot about...that," Rosaline apologized quietly behind Shanna.

_No need to say sorry. It's not like it's your fault I'm a mute. I'll just think of a way to get back at Sebastian. _

Yeah...that's just wishful thinking. That stupid Crow demon seems to know everything that I'm going to do before even I do. I wonder if he can read minds too...Nah, otherwise we'd have a giant telepathic argument in our heads for days. Or weeks. Or for the rest of eternity.

Our food was placed in front of us after Shanna argued that flying was better than running, in which Rosaline countered the fact that when you run, you don't swallow as many bugs. As they were bickering back and forth, I tried to get rid of my migraine. Which wasn't progressing all too well since these rather masculine thoughts kept popping in every damn second.

_I'd love to take her home._

_I wonder if she's good in bed._

_She looks a little young. Aw, but who cares!_

_I'll just walk up to them and-_

Before I could make any sound of warning, a warm body took a seat on the stool next to mine. Another one sat next to Rosaline, and offered a smile. The blonde nodded politely, but promptly ignored his presence. The guy next to me, a six-foot something monster with intimidating grey eyes, nudged me.

"Hey, I've never seen you before. Visiting?" He stared at me, waiting for a reply. Sure, him and his friend look and act nice, but their minds are taking a much more perverted path. As most can tell by the way he's been staring at my chest.

Creep.

"Yup, she came by the States," Shanna butted in again, wrapping one of her arms around my shoulders, "It was the first time she boarded a plane by herself, _since she's only fourteen._" With emphasis on the last phrase, Shanna's smile practically screamed, 'get the fuck out of here you creep'. But he seemed blind to the somewhat subtle hint.

"Only fourteen, huh?" The creep's friend, a guy that was a little shorter with hazel eyes, completely ignored me and focused on the two older women, "How 'bout you two? Are you girls still in your teens?"  
Rosaline heaved a giant sigh and widened her eyes, an obvious sign that she was getting irritated. Making eye contact with Shanna, the usually quiet lupine hybrid cleared her throat.

"If you two don't leave us alone in the next five minutes, I will call my boyfriend over and he will cut off your balls and shove them down your throat. So unless you want to get castrated, I suggest that you get out of here. _Now."_

Aaaand just like that it was just the three of us again. The blonde went back to her old innocent self, sipping her milkshake like nothing happened. I grabbed my fork and tried the salad, which was awesome. Luckily the thoughts in my head were starting to fade away, which put me in a better mood, which then actually allowed me enjoy this girl's night out.

After leaving a tip, we walked out of the restaurant and into the bustling sidewalks of nightlife. I was definitely the youngest person who was still out, but Shanna and Rosaline didn't make me feel excluded from anything. They always asked for my opinion, thoughts, or preference. We walked around the city, went sightseeing, and let me just say that Big Ben in moonlight is just breathtaking. London really is beautiful, with the old architecture that seems to live forever. I just wished that I could live here by free will and not force.

By the time we came back to the manor, the moon was up high, and I was feeling strangely giddy and sleepy. Not a good combination of feelings, if I do say so myself. Bad things can happen.

"WE'RE FINALLY HOOOOOMMMMMEEEE!" Shanna yelled out in relief as she kicked off her heels. A stupid grin was plastered on my face, and it felt like it wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. Oh well, I don't really care anymore.

"Shhhhhhh, we don't want to wake anybody," Rosaline said in a hushed voice.

"Oh who cares, two of the people who live here don't even sleep," Shanna stumbled her way to the stairs, shoes in hand. I chuckled a bit before beginning the trek up the stairs and to my room.

"Good night, Artemis," Rosaline whispered as we parted ways, her going right with Shanna and I going left. I vigorously nodded and waved goodbye without turning back, I was way too tired to do even that.

And apparently I was so tired I couldn't even notice the presence of another person until I was literally in front of my bedroom door. And I really don't want to deal with him right now, but I feel like I'm about to pass out. If I slept in a tree...I'd probably fall out of it. Plus even if I were to turn back now and run, he'd catch up and 'punish' me.

Might as well deal with this demonic asshole right now and sleep afterwards.

I opened the door, and saw the Crow demon hanging out by the window, his red eyes drilling into my brown one. I yawned, and closed the door behind me, pretending that he didn't bother me at all. Hopping on one foot, I pulled off a boot and switched to the other. I plopped onto my bed face first and moaned. It felt so good!

"How was your night out, kitten?" Sebastian's suave voice was slightly muffled by the comforters and my slight lack of consciousness, but I understood what he said.

"It waf gret. Tired doe. Fery tired," Sound finally came out of my mouth, and it felt weird. What was his order again? Oh yeah, to not talk to anyone other than him.

Possessive prick.

"That's good. I'm glad that my pet enjoyed herself. Now tell me, did you talk to anybody? Did anyone talk to you?" I groaned. Why the hell couldn't he just let me go to sleep in peace?

"No and yes," I turned my head to the side so that my voice wouldn't be muffled, but I kept my eyes closed. Didn't want to see his perfect face, no thank you.

"Oh? And who tried to talk to you?" His voice sounded closer, but it could've been my imagination. Maybe.

"Erm… Shanna...Rosaline...and some douches at a restaurant…" I mumbled, slowly losing myself in the dark abyss of sleep.

"How interesting…" That was the last thing I heard before I basically knocked out.

**A/N: It's never safe to pass out in front of Bassy, Artemis. Who the hell knows what he's gonna do to you. I cringe at the thought.**

**On a side note; should this fanfic have a lime and/or lemon? I've never really written smut before, but if I do it for this story I'm going to have to change the rating…..**

**PLEASE REVIEW I NEED HELLLLPPPPP**


	13. Chapter 13

Light was pouring into my eyes, and I turned to the opposite direction, finding a warm hard spot. I snuggled into it, and almost sighed in bliss when it enveloped most of my body.

But then I realized something.

When the hell did I have a warm hard spot on my bed?!

"GAH! What the hell are you doing here, Master?!" I fell onto the carpeted ground, and stared at Sebastian, bewildered. When did he get in?

"I was simply watching over my pet. Is that so wrong?" He peered over the edge, with a seemingly innocent look on his face. But those eyes, those damned eyes betrayed him.

"It is if your 'pet' is a fourteen year old girl! Where are my rights?! I was born in America! We have amendments! I have rights!" I scrambled up to my feet and realized that I was still in the clothes I had worn last night. Gross.

"Where you were born holds no importance to me, your master," Sebastian sat upright on my bed, feet touching the ground. I glared.

"You wouldn't even be my 'master' if that other guy could've handled a rejection! But noooo, he just _had _to make a contract with you. And why did you even accept such a frivolous request?! I thought you had a good taste for souls!" I ranted as I walked to my closet, angrily picking up clothes and slamming them back into place if I didn't want it.

"You do realize that you don't have to carry the curse, right?" His voice echoed in my mind, not holding any value, "All you have to do is bear three children. Then I'll bother her instead."

It didn't require any thought to make my decision about that. The answer is a big fat 'no'. I wouldn't wish this on anyone, not on my own child. I'd rather carry the burden myself.

But that didn't mean I would like doing it.

"Like hell I'd ever do that," I entered the bathroom and locked the door, but I knew it wouldn't do much if Sebastian really wanted to come inside. I counted to ten in my head, but he didn't make any movement, he just stayed on my bed.

After taking a super quick shower and brushing my teeth, my hair dripped water on the carpet as I walked back to my closet to actually pick out an outfit. I could feel the stupid demon butler's eyes on me as I passed by him in a towel, but he didn't say anything. Strange.

Quickly changing into black ripped jeans and a Black Veil Brides muscle tee that showed off the sides of my black bra, I left my towel on a nearby chair and pulled on my loyal boots. Looking at my reflection on the vanity, I fixed my still wet hair to cover my freaky eye. Glancing at the demon, our eyes met for an awkward second before I escaped out into the hallway.

Running towards the living room, I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw Noah and Ciel playing chess. Other beings! YES!

Fidgeting with the stupid collar, I watched the game after pulling up a chair. Looking at the pieces on the board and the amount put to the side, I noticed that the pompous bastard had a heaping pile of Noah's pawns. And Noah was empty handed. I chuckled into a fist, trying to not break their concentration.

"Oi, what's so funny, Yankee?" Noah sounded happy for a distraction to his downward spiral of doom in chess.

I just shook my head and watched the game, how Ciel had a smirk that seemed to be ever present and how Noah looked like he was going to bust a vein from thinking too hard. Just before Ciel was going in for the kill, I felt Sebastian's presence get closer to us. And he felt really mad.

I was contemplating whether or not I had a chance of escape when I heard the footsteps cease a couple feet behind me. I stiffened, not knowing if Sebastian was going to do something in front of these two. Hopefully not.

"Checkmate."

Noah groaned, and accepted defeat. Slumping in his chair, he stared at the demon behind me and asked, "What's wrong with you?"

"Just a misbehaving pet is all," Came the reply, and I rolled my eyes. If he was talking about my choice of clothing, maybe he should get with the times and realize that girls showing parts if their underwear is perfectly normal. He should be happy that I'm not walking around half naked like most people of my generation.

"Oh...um…" Not knowing what else to say, he turned his attention back to the board game.

"Willing to play another game?" The pompous bastard leaned forward, chin resting on folded hands with an evil glint in his midnight blue eyes.

"How about you Artemis? Wanna try going against Ciel?" The blond practically begged, but I shook my head quickly. I have no idea how to play, and the only reason why I knew Ciel was winning was because of Noah's lack of white pieces.

"Why not?" Feeling two pairs of eyes on me, I tried thinking of a way to tell them about my inability to play without using telepathy. I was afraid that if Sebastian found out I could 'talk' without actually 'talking', he'd order me to stop that as well.

"Please do excuse her, she isn't able to speak to anyone at the moment," Sebastian butted in, placing a hand on his chest and bowing slightly. Ciel arched a perfect eyebrow, and glanced at me. I blushed a bit, and glared at the chessboard, hoping it would catch fire or something. But unfortunately that's the one power I don't have.

"And why's that?" Ciel leaned back, his arms resting on the chair. I realized that he still wore the blue diamond ring on his thumb.

"Just a suitable punishment is all, young lord," Sebastian smiled and I wanted to smack it on the other side of his head.

"Well, she better be able to speak for the case about vampires. We can't have a student who can't talk," Ciel responded, sounding authoritative.

And for once I was grateful for the pompous bastard.

Also known as Ciel if you didn't know.

"Of course, my lord."

I fist pumped in my mind, running around triumphantly as a crowd roared around my consciousness. Confetti and streamers flew in the air, and I just yelled out 'Yes!' as the crowd carried me away into my imaginary sunset. 'Cause this is all in my mind, ya know.

"Would you like some tea, Mr. Jayy?" Sebastian asked as he recovered from the indirect order from his master.

"Yes, thank you," The blond received his cup and relaxed after taking a sip. I wondered why the English drank so much damn tea, like there are other beverages to drink. Sebastian offered me a cup, but I shook my head.

I hate tea.

"Have you read up on the Moon classes that you'll be taking in two days?" Ciel turned his attention to me once again, blue eye meeting brown.

I nodded, and as I opened my mouth to speak I found that I actually could. Yay! "Should I keep a closer eye on the pure blooded vampires? They seem to be very important in the supernatural society, especially in the way it's set up," I poked my finger in one of the holes in my shirt, "And if they're important, they'll be targets."

"I was thinking the same thing," Ciel agreed, "So far only lesser vampires have been attacked, but I suspect that that's the case because the pure bloods are heavily guarded at all times."

"Mmm," I tapped a finger on my chin, "Wait a minute. Isn't there only one pure blooded vampire at the academy? I totally forgot about that."

"That'll make our job easier then," Ciel responded.

"But why is there only one pure blood?" I asked, actually curious.

"Pure blooded vampires are not only like royalty, but are very rare," Ciel explained, sounding bored again, "It shows their amount of power, whatever little it is. There are more schools like this academy, but I do believe that this particular vampire is a descendant of the original. He's the _it _vampire."

"Do vampires hold a lot of power in the underworld?"

After I said the question aloud, Sebastian choked back a laugh by covering his mouth with his hand. I arched an eyebrow at him, but didn't say anything. When did he stand across from me, anyways? And when did Noah leave?

"No, not really. Vampires aren't very powerful since they only consume blood and not souls, so beings like me and Sebastian look down upon them a lot. Even the pure bloods wouldn't stand a chance against a young demon like me," The pompous bastard sounded arrogant, and I wondered if that was really true.

"So...you eat souls?" I twiddled my thumbs, knowing he wouldn't answer.

"Of course I do, what else would I eat?" He replied matter-of-factly, like it was a stupid question to begin with. I blanked out, surprised Ciel answered at all.

"Er, um, I don't know. It's just that, um, you've never really talked about it and-and-" I stuttered on, flustered by the glint in his blue eyes. I knew a blush was coming on, but I couldn't look away from his lone eye that seemed to glow in amusement that just made me even more uncomfortable. And when he smirked it just killed me.

"Do you really want me to talk about eating another person's soul?"

"I- I- Am I supposed to answer?" I really wanted to run out screaming, confused and scared by the fast pounding in my chest that was suspiciously coming from the same place my heart is.

Suddenly I was pulled out of my chair, and slung over a shoulder. Stiff steps moved from under me, and I was brought outside of the living room. I tried to lift up my face to see where I was going, but I was dumped unceremoniously onto the foot of the stairs before I could.

"Ow ow ow ow," I rubbed my butt, trying to soothe the pain, "What was that for?"

Sparkles floated down to the ground, and my eyes widened. The pounding in my chest went into overdrive, and this time I knew why: fear.

"What was what for?" An absolutely malicious voice came down, and I flinched, "Are you asking about my course of action, or yours?"

"Obviously yours because I didn't do anything wrong," I glared up at him as I stood up, ignoring the trepidation running throughout my body.

Sebastian's red eyes glowed like the fires from hell, not appreciating my back talk. Before I could figure out what he was doing, a hand wrapped around my throat, and he squeezed. I gasped for air, clawing at him to try and loosen the vice-like grip. My feet dangled uselessly, combat boots not even grazing the ground. I attempted to stare into his eyes to try and beg for air, but I saw nothing of the sarcastic and cat-loving demon. All that was left was a possessive monster looking to hurt me.

And quite possibly kill me.

My throat began burning, and I knew I wasn't going to last long. The only choice I had left was to get into his mind, and make him let me go.

Before I could even touch what was left of his consciousness, a voice broke through my choked gasps and Sebastian's growls.

"Sebastian! Let her go, that's an order."

Aaaand I was dropped to the floor again. Unceremoniously, I might add.

Coughing and taking in big gulps of much needed air, I glared up at the crow demon, who was now directing his dark aura to Ciel. The younger demon looked unfazed, bored, and yet somewhat entertained.

"I have an idea as to why you're upset, but that does not justify your actions, Sebastian. You are still a butler of the Phantomhive household, and I expect you to act like one. You may be Artemis' master, but I am yours. Do _not _forget that," And with a _swoosh_ I was back on my feet in the dining room with Ciel, head spinning from the sudden movement and lack of oxygen. I leaned against the table, and stared at Ciel, surprised and confused that he decided to help me.

"Erm, thanks," I stared at the ground, waiting for the patterns on the carpet to stop moving around.

"It was rather interesting to see Sebastian in such a state…" Ciel mumbled.

"YOU DID THAT ON PURPOSE?!" I screamed, disbelief clouding my voice. This-this-this-

"Of course I did," The British accent just added to the condescending tone Ciel was using, "I didn't expect you to react so perfectly, though."

This- "BASTARD!" I exploded, "YOU POMPOUS BASTARD! I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO DIE!"

"You weren't going to die," Cue eye-rolling, "Sebastian wouldn't risk killing a pet like you. You're invaluable to him."

_Smack._

My hand stung, but Ciel's surprised expression was more than satisfying. A scowl was on my face, and it was scary enough to make serial killers scream like little girls.

I know from experience. Don't ask why.

"Do _not, _don't _ever _refer to me as being that _thing's pet," _I growled out, feeling my fangs grow out, "Do it again, and I'll do something worse than just hit you."

Before the blunette could reply, a dark ball of energy bounced in and tackled me to the ground. The fall got me back in check, and I stared into Shanna's large eyes, waiting for an answer as to why I was on the floor again.

"Your uniform," She screeched, barely keeping back a scream, "It's so cute! Like, oh my god, why can't I be you? Plus the skirt's kinda short so you'll be able to show off your amazing legs but the blazer might be too small around the chest area because you have the biggest pair of boo-"

"OKAY. Change of subject," I interrupted before Shanna could continue, "My uniform came in? Great, I'll go try it on now."

"YAY LET'S GO!" I was carried back into my bedroom, and I was getting some serious motion sickness. I flopped on the bed, and looked at the new pile of clothing that I'd be wearing for the next mission. And surprisingly, it wasn't the preppy school girl gear I've seen in the movies. A dark blazer with white seams complimented the plain blouse underneath, and the pleated skirt _was _pretty short, but the stockings went high enough to cover most of my legs.

All in all I felt like an anime school girl.

"Oooohhh, girl, you look hot!" Shanna stared at me, specifically at my chest, "But if any of those vampires or whatever try to touch you, I'm gonna kill them."

"Yeah, yeah," I rolled my eyes, knowing what she said was true but still took it lightly, "I just wish I was able to wear boots and not these," I gestured to the black leather loafers, and gave them a disgusted look.

As if they had feelings.

**A/N: What if shoes did have feelings?**

**I loved writing the part about Artemis and Ciel, maybe it should be CielXArtemis instead?**

**Ha. HA. Lol as if Sebastian would EVER let that happen.**

**And did you guys really think Bassy was going to kill her?**

**I mean, he was close to doing it. But he didn't! But he was close…**


	14. Chapter 14

"Welcome to Rosary Academy!"

I forced a smile on my face as a rather...eccentric man greeted me. Sure he looked sophisticated in a grey business suit and kinda looked like David Beckham, but when I stared into his brown eyes, I saw all the crazy stunts he's pulled when he was younger. And in the past week.

"I'm the principal, Nelson Spencers."

_Nelson Spencers. Age 42, widowed, three children. Retired werewolf hunter, now has a pacifist view on the world. Rarely has a bland day, usually goes on some sort of adventure such as jumping into shark infested waters just to get his watch back. And that was yesterday._

"You must be the new student, Mackenzie Echoes," Mr. Spencers handed me a paper and key, "This is your schedule and key to your dorm. You don't have a roommate due to your...circumstance. I'll give more details later once we have more privacy. Any questions?"

Mr. Spencers shot me a swoon-worthy smile, and I composed myself before answering.

"No, but I was wondering," I stared at him with the best puppy-dog eyes I could muster, "Could I trade in the standard shoes for combat boots? Please? It'll make my life a lot easier."

He stared at me before breaking out in a fit of laughter. It continued on for a couple moments before he doubled over, literally crying. I stood in front of him awkwardly, getting weird looks from the daytime students.

Was I going to die from humiliation before I even punched a guy in the face?

"Yes, yes that's perfectly fine," Mr. Spencers wiped a tear from his red face.

As I concentrated on not beating the absolute living _shit_ out of the principal of a preppy academy, I followed him to the Moon dorms, which was practically abandoned compared to the busy Sun campus. I guess it made sense to separate the supernatural beings from the humans, and to hold them at different times.

As we walked through a gate with a silver crescent moon adorning the top, I took in the beautiful scenery. The cobblestone path lead to every building on the campus, bright green grass shined in the sunlight, and birds chirped every now and then. Rosary Academy was definitely different from the schools I've been to, especially from my high school. I was used to the run down ghetto school, overcrowded with students that probably wouldn't graduate on time, if at all. This was practically educational paradise.

"Well, this is your room," Mr. Spencers unlocked the door for me, and the dorm was a helluva lot better than anything I've lived in-second only to Ciel's manor.

My bags were lying on a queen sized bed, with grey and white comforters and sheets. The walls were a boring beige color, and a window with sophisticated looking curtains overlooked the courtyard.

"Whoa," I murmured, examining the vintage vanity mirror.

"Do you like it?" Mr. Spencers asked, "The bathroom is next to the closet, and everyone has their own in the Moon dorms. Classes don't start for another two hours, so you can begin to unpack if you'd like."

I nodded, "Anything else you'd like to say about the mission?"

"Ah, yes, I almost forgot," Mr. Spencers chuckled, "If anything, please keep a constant watch on the vampires. All of your 'teachers' are your coworkers, so if there's any suspicious activity going on, feel free to leave class and check it out. And please be careful, not only of the people attacking the vampires, but of the students as well. They can get a little...hairy sometimes. Oh, and I'm the only one who knows of your true purpose, the students are in the dark about this. I didn't know whether or not to tell them, so I left that decision up to you."

"Thanks for your consideration; it'd be better if the students didn't know. It'll make my job a bit easier."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," After excusing himself, Principal Spencers left to go hide in his office.

I ran to my suitcase and found my signature boots. Ditching the stupid loafers, I almost cried when I felt the familiar leather and rubber.

Nothing will ever beat my combat boots.

Nothing.

As I lied on my bed, my mind wandered. It was my first time actually being alone, and I wondered where Sebastian was. Did he really want me as a pet? And why? Was I only a possession for the demon, an object that he can throw away once I lose my value?

And what do I think of him? At first my impression of him was a stupid and cocky demon, but now that I know what exactly he is, and what he's done, do I like him in any way? Sebastian has made it painfully obvious that he won't leave me alone, no matter what I am or seem to do. Nobody, not even my family has accepted me for the mutant freak that is now me, and here Sebastian is, claiming me as his, and even putting a collar on me.

But my _family. _I haven't really thought about the conversation I had with my mother since that day, nor have I called her back. Did they really miss me? What would happen if I came back home? My own little brother, Jeancarlo, probably doesn't even remember me. Would he even acknowledge me as his kin? And what about my sisters, Cindy and Nancy? Did they understand our parents when they told them about the people I murdered? Do they think me as a horrible monster that hides under their bed? Or do they not care about that? Do they still remember me as the flower picking ray of sunshine I once was? Would they recognize me now?

If I asked Sebastian, would he let me visit my family? Would he come along? And if he did, would my parents get the wrong impression and think I've 'gone to the dark side'? They'd never let me be part of the family!

And what if I did stay with the demon? I feel like I won't stay on planet earth forever, Sebastian will probably want to take me to his kingdom in hell or whatever. He'll probably order me to go with him, no matter how much of a fight I put up. Hell, he's probably friends with Satan and would ask the devil himself to bend a few rules to let me live in the underworld.

Does that even count as living? Does 'living' in actual hell really exist? Would I stay sane in such an environment? It's unlikely that I would, especially since I'm already mentally unstable now.

Groaning, I rolled over on the bed so that I was on my stomach. Having alone time was never a good thing for me. I always end up super depressed afterwards, about my life and future.

And it's in these moments how much I realize my life _sucks. _It sucks balls! Abducted, abused, abandoned! And we can't forget cursed! What misfortune have I _not _encountered?! What did I do to deserve this? What god can be good and love me if I have to suffer so much? Is this necessary?

Do I even have a future anymore?

Bells sounded outside, and it pulled me away from my dark sea of thoughts. Checking the time, I was surprised that it was time for classes to begin. Quickly grabbing a black messenger bag already packed with the basic schools supplies, I flew out the door and into the courtyard. Sun students were already swarming around the gate, waiting for it to open and allow the Moon students onto the main campus.

Waiting only a couple moments, I stood on the moonlit walkway, noting the street lamps I hadn't noticed before. Supernatural teenagers began socializing with the humans, if only for a few moments before the Sun students leave for their curfew. A quick scan assured me that there were adults supervising them, incase something broke out. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, or at least from a regular homo sapiens point of view.

Briskly walking through the crowd, I promptly ignored everyone and everything. All I needed to do was head to the northern building, Lenin Library, and go to the classroom in there. That's where my mission begins.

Finally standing in front of the classroom doors, I took a deep breath. Time to remember the top three rules when it comes to undercover cases:

1. Don't draw any suspicion or unnecessary attention to yourself.

2. No need to socialize-stay in the shadows.

3. Don't ever let anyone see you in any of your forms, not unless it's life or death.

Opening the large oak doors, I saw that my first teacher(or should I say _teachers_) of the night was going to be Rosaline and Noah, or Ms. Gale and her assistant, Mr. DeClay. Pfft, when does an English teacher need an assistant? It's definitely because Noah can't teach a class to save his life.

The thing that sucks though is that Rosaline wouldn't let me sit down until she introduced me to the entire class. Ugh.

"Class, may I have your attention please!" Rosaline-erm, I mean _Ms. Gale_, clapped her hands together, and the class quieted down, "We have a new student joining us tonight! Mackenzie Echoes came over from South America, so let's make her feel welcome, okay?"

As the students sang out an agreement, I forced a small smile on my face and made a beeline to the farthest seat in the room.

Time to sit and wait.

**A/N: Yeah, this chapter wasn't all that exciting, but I felt like you guys, the readers, don't really know what's going on in Artemis' head with all this going on. So I thought it would be best if I dedicated a small chapter to it. Sorry if it bored you, but the next chapter will be a lot more exciting, I promise!**

**Oh, and also just as a warning: School just started for me yesterday, and I just wanted to let you guys know that there will always be a possibility I won't update weekly, like I have been. High school is my first priority, but writing is my passion. I'll do my best; however please don't get angry if I don't post a new chapter every Wednesday!**

**Sorry for the long Author's Note! Much love!**


	15. Chapter 15

The first couple days—erm, I mean _nights_—of class went by without incident, but I made sure that I didn't let my guard down. As for the vampires, I could tell they were on edge by the way their eyes kept flickering back and forth at the other students. I wonder, could it be another student at this academy who has attacked them? And if so, who?

Luckily my schedule corresponds with that of the pure blood, Sterling Cross, so it wasn't that much of a struggle to keep an eye on him. I just hoped that he didn't notice me following him.

...Not that it posed any problem, really. I guess all vampires are just born attractive, but apparently if you're a pure blood you're like a fucking god. And I say that because Sterling is constantly surrounded by girls and boys alike.

As I headed to my next class, I sensed some rather...suspicious presences a couple miles out into the woods that were east of the school. Considering that I was in a crowded hallway, and that I didn't want any attention drawn to me when I jumped out a window, I decided to wait until I got to my next class.

As soon as I got in, I almost ran to the teacher—this time being Ciel. Or for the time being, Mr. Thompson. He was writing something on the board when I entered.

"C-Mr. Thompson," I caught myself before saying his in front of the few students, one of them being the pure blood, who sat straighter, "I need to go to the nurse's office."

Giving him a look that said 'Dude, there's something outside and I need to kick ass', Ciel nodded and gave me a polite smile.

"Of course Ms. Echoes, you are excused."

I calmly walked out the door, but once I saw that the halls were clear, I ran to the nearest window and jumped out. But you know, after opening it 'cause breaking glass makes a lot of noise and a huge ass mess. And I don't want to deal with that shit right now. Or ever. I'm not a fucking maid.

Fuck you to whoever thought that. Fuck you in the ass. With an elephant's penis.

As I ran closer, I felt the numbers growing. Where were they coming from?

Fishing my phone out of my pocket, I quickly thought about who was free at the moment. Ciel obviously wasn't, Rosaline and Noah had another class, and Shanna and Trayvon only had one free period at the end of the day. I mean night. This leaves that shit-eating possessive demon.

Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't even consider calling anyone and go in alone to kill whatever lurked in the dark. But not only had Sebastian ordered me, everyone else had made me promise to always go with another person. They still seem to underestimate me, even though I can turn into a fucking giant ass fire-breathing lizard. That can fly.

A dragon if you couldn't guess.

"Why, what are you doing here, Ms. Echoes?"

I froze, sliding a couple feet. When I looked back I saw that it was Sterling Cross, leaning against a tree with a smirk on his perfect face. Arching an eyebrow, I thought of a way to get out of this situation and try to get him back to class. And how did he get out of class anyway? Ciel should've-

Damn that pompous bastard. This is all his fault and I bet he did it on purpose.

Staring at his lavender eyes, I tried to sound as innocent as possible, "I thought I saw something out here, but it was probably my imagination. I should get going back to class now-"

"Yeah, you should," He nodded his head, pale hair reflecting the moonlight, "Or you could stay out here with me and tell me all about yourself."

"No thanks," I said brightly, not falling for his vampire charm, "Mr. Thompson must be wondering what's taking me so long, so I should _really _get going now. And you should leave too."

Even though I didn't want to leave the woods without checking out what was in there, I couldn't risk a fight with so many if I were protecting Sterling. Sure I could put a barrier for him, but I can't keep it up for too long.

So it was retreat for now.

"Alright alright," Sterling surrendered, chuckling behind a screen of snow white hair, "So what part of South America are you from?"

I twitched and began walking towards the school, "Argentina."

Light footsteps followed, "That's cool. I've always wanted to visit, but there's too much sun."

"Hm."

"What type of being are you?" He pressed on, catching up to me with larger strides.

Not answering, I quickened my pace. I could feel them getting closer every passing second, and the vampire seemed oblivious to it. Well, ok, I admit that they're still like 30 miles from where I am right now, and they're progressing slowly, but I'm just paranoid. I got a reputation to protect, and I'm not sure if Sebastian would get mad if I were to mess up on a mission.

"Hello? Earth to Echoes?" Sterling waved a hand in front of my face, and I resisted the urge to bite it off. Can vampires grow appendages back?

"I'm sorry, what?" I asked kindly, annoyance seeping out.

"What are you?" He inquired again, not picking up on the hint, or maybe he's just ignoring it, "Nobody in the Moon class is human, and I'm just curious about the new kid."

"I'd rather not say," We were reaching the edge of the forest, and I began to cheer in my head.

That is, until my back hit a tree.

I stared up at purple eyes, which had darkened. Sterling still held a smile, but it looked a hell of a lot more sinister than before. Hopefully whatever he's planning to do wouldn't take long because if we stay here for a bit longer, we were going to die. And it would be his fault.

"C'mon, tell me. I promise I won't tell anyone else," I guess Sterling used some of his vampire charm because I could feel my resolve waver a little.

"Why are you so adamant about finding out? The pure blood of Rosary Academy shouldn't give a rat's ass about anyone who isn't a vampire," I evaded his eyes, hoping it would help me in some way.

"Whatever gave you that idea, Echoes?" Sterling leered at me, "I'm not sure what exactly, but you do pique my interest. Vampire or not, I give a lot more than just a rat's ass when it comes to you, and it frustrates me because I don't know anything about you."

"Err… What exactly are you saying, Cross?" I was so, so lost. He just said he gives more than a rat's ass, so what does that mean? Does he give a donkey's ass? A horse's ass? I DON'T KNOW BOYS ARE SO CONFUSING!

The vampire sighed, and this time his eyes were innocent of anything they held before, "What I'm trying to say is-"

"Mr. Cross, Ms. Echoes, would you two care to explain what you're doing out here?" A suave voice interrupted.

And I recognized that stupid, condescending, soft, soothing, angering, frustrating, too-good-for-you voice.

It was Sebastian.

"Ah, Mr. Winston. How are you doing this fine night?" Sterling turned around, not sounding happy about the intruder.

"I'm doing fine, thank you for asking," Sebastian shot us a shit-eating grin, "And I'd be more than happy to escort you two back to class."

As we made our way back to the school, with Sebastian and Sterling bickering every now and then, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand. Whoever was out there was less than 5 miles away, and the distance between us and them was dwindling. I glanced at Sebastian to see if he knew or not, but his behavior didn't change any.

How was I supposed to take care of business if Sterling was stuck to me like a leech (no pun intended) which hindered my ability to walk around freely? He'll be the death of...of… _him _if he didn't leave me alone!

When we reached the classroom, Sebastian faced us.

"Mr. Cross, if you'd be kind enough to give me and Ms. Echoes a moment of privacy, it would be most appreciated. I would like to have a word with her."

Looking skeptical, Sterling nodded and went in without any struggle. After the door closed, Sebastian faced me, and I expected a punishment for talking to another guy, since he freaked out with the knight from the first mission.

"Did you feel the presences outside?" He asked, not looking like he was a ticking time bomb, "Is that why you were outside?"

"Yeah, but I think that Ciel let the pure blood out on purpose, just to cause trouble," I glared at the doors, knowing that Stupid Demon #2 was in there.

I think you guys can guess who Stupid Demon #1 is.

"Young lord, what were you thinking…?" Sebastian raised a hand to his temple, and opened one eye to me, "I'll take care of the people in the woods and you go back to class."

"What?! Why Master?!" I whispered-yelled, making sure to try and not make a scene.

"That _boy _seems rather…attached to you," The demon glared, "But I'll deal with that later. You're going to stay here because if you don't return, that pure blood will most likely come after you again, and cause more trouble than we need."

I groaned, "But—"

"Go back to class, pet. That's an order."

Now that I didn't even have a choice, I entered the classroom and went back to my seat. Ciel was talking about something or whatever, not that I have ever payed attention in his class, but tonight I was especially distracted with what was going on outside. Sure I wasn't out there with him, but every single person that was in the woods did not go unnoticed by my mental radar. I'm not sure _what _I sense in a person that allows me to know that they're there, but it's like a sixth sense.

And right now, Sebastian is facing over a thousand people. They're close enough to have noticed one another, and since the strangers' advances stopped, I knew that they started talking. Glancing over at Ciel, I could tell he was a little tense and stiff as he moved about the class, so I guessed he knew about Sebastian's position as well. All we could do was hope that he didn't mess anything up, however knowing the sarcastic and sneaky crow just made me squirm in my seat.

"…And that concludes tonight's lesson. Please be sure to read chapters ten through eleven and take notes. We'll have a class discussion when we meet again. You're dismissed."

As the students collected their papers, I thought about my next move. Right now everyone's headed for lunch, and even though I don't eat much, I know that the cafeteria is as regal and fancy as the rest of the school. If I managed to sneak out, I would be able to go and help Sebastian who is still talking with whoever was in the woods.

But when I left the school building to go 'eat', I was blocked by a handful of vampires, all of which were expressionless. I arched an eyebrow, and tried to walk around them, except they formed some sort of wall to prevent me to walk any further.

Sighing, I adjusted my messenger bag, "Can I help you?"

"Master Cross has ordered us to take you to dine with him. Now," They said in sync, which was really creepy. They were like pale, beautiful robots. With fangs that can possibly kill me.

"Okay…" I said slowly, and when they turned around I pulled out my recently purchased cell phone and texted Ciel.

**Can't make it to the woods, **I tapped my phone, **too many witnesses. You have a free period, so go help Sebastian. **

"Our Master awaits you," The gang of blood suckers led me to a gazebo, and I saw Sterling sipping a glass of wine. Or blood. I mean, it's probably blood.

With a gust of wind, it was just the two of us, but I could _once again _sense that they were scattered in the surrounding trees, out of sight. I mentally groaned when Sterling shot me a grin, fangs glistening ominously.

Climbing up the stairs and taking a seat, I stared at the vampire with disinterest until he spoke.

"How are you doing this fine night, Echoes?" Sterling began, taking another sip out of the wine glass.

I didn't answer and just started tapping my fingers on the wooden table, annoyed that I wasn't doing anything productive in this case.

"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?" He smirked, "Or is it a vampire?"

Checking my watch, I ignored his question and sighed. Are boys always this stupid and cocky?

"You're being cruel, Miss Echoes. Too cruel, if you ask me. Why is a beautiful girl like you not talking to a handsome man like me? Most would kill to have my undivided attention like you do right now," Looking honestly confused, like he couldn't _possibly _understand why I didn't want him, I spoke.

"Listen, I'm not that good with words, so I'll just tell you straight up that I'm not interested in you," I shrugged, "Whether you're looking for friendship or more, I really don't want to associate with you. I don't want to talk to you, work with you, or even sit in the same room with you. So please, do me a favor and leave me alone."

Standing up, I walked away from the table, only to be stopped by Sterling clutching my wrist. Ugghhhhhhhh.

"Why? Why is it that the only person that fascinates me is ignoring me like the plague? Why don't you find me agreeable? Why?!" He yelled, all traces of the arrogant pure blood gone.

"It's not that I don't find you a_greeable,_" I tried to wrestle my wrist out his grasp unsuccessfully, "I just don't like you as a person. You're um…just not my type, okay? Time to move on, dude."

"Then who is your type?" Sterling paused, and gripped my wrist harder, which is likely going to leave a bruise, "It's Mr. Winston, isn't it? The way he interrupted us in the woods with a stupid smirk, how he pulled you away from me when we got back to the academy. Hell, he even stares at you during class!"

"What?! How the hell did you come up with _that?"_

"I'm right, aren't I? You have a thing for the teacher!" He seethed, and glared at me.

"What?! No! There's nothing going on between us! You just can't handle a rejection!" I guess I hit a nerve because if looks could kill, Sterling would've murdered me at that second.

"_I _can't handle a rejection? _Me? _Do you know how embarrassing it is to have a freak like you say no to someone like me? I would've much rather tease you than consider courting you, but there's something stopping me _and I don't know what it is_," He clutched harder, and this time I felt some bones break, "You're the creepiest girl I know, covering half of your face with hair, always hiding that hand of yours with a glove, and hell, you even wear a some sort of dog collar! I see what you paint during art and I hear the music you play in your dorm. The way you dress on the weekends make it look like you're going to a funeral, and it scares people. You terrify _monsters _for fuck's sake! And to make matters worse, you're in a taboo relationship with our French teacher!" During his little rant, Sterling managed to actually break my wrist, but I doubt he noticed, considering he didn't stop talking. All I could do was wince and clench my jaw to keep from screaming, because if I made some noise indicating that I was hurt, Sebastian would kill the person we were meant to protect.

"Just let me go Sterling," I said in a cold voice, "You're hurting me, and I need to go to the nurse's office."

"_I'm _hurting _you?! _Ha! Don't make me laugh, Echoes!"

"No, you are physically hurting me, dumbass. You broke my wrist," I gestured with my eyes to have him look at my injury, and he automatically let go. I clutched it to my chest and made a run for it, knowing that no vampire would be able to catch up with me.

Knocking at the already open door, the old nurse, Mrs. Goldings, welcomed me inside with a smile, but it lost a couple watts when she saw me. Her short white hair looked frazzled, almost like she hasn't taken a break in a while, and her red lipstick was smudged at one corner. I guess my injury just made her even more jittery because her hands began fluttering around like birds with broken wings.

"Okay, honey, take a seat," I sat down on the paper covered bed, and she grabbed some gauze and medical tape. Before wrapping it, her fingertips were like feathers dancing along my skin, healing the major breaks, "Oh my, what happened? You've got a number of fractures, Echoes."

"I…uh…" I scrambled for a plausible excuse, "fell down a couple stairs…"

"Oh, how clumsy of you!" She chuckled and finished wrapping my left wrist, "Just be careful next time, alright?"

"Yes ma'am," I thanked the warm elderly and made my way back to the dorm when I felt my phone vibrate.

**Everyone, tomorrow is a weekend, so we'll all have free schedules, **I could hear Ciel's voice in my head, **Meet up at the back of the library by noon. Sebastian and I have gathered important information regarding the case, so this meeting is mandatory.**

I turned it off, and flopped on my bed, keeping in mind of my wrist. Without even bothering to change, I fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

**A/N: I wonder what Sebastian's gonna do when he finds out about what Sterling did to Artemis. **

**Eh, he'll probably kill the kid. No avoiding it.**

**Don't forget to review! I like to know what you guys think!**

**P.S Sorry this chapter is a day late, but you know, high school...*groan***


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Okay, so the worst thing happened to me. I follow this AMAZING story here on this website, and the author ended it with a lemon, but it wasn't all that graphic, especially when you compare it to what else is here. And guess what?! SOMEBODY REPORTED HER. They're asking her to take her wonderful piece of writing down, and I'm just so pissed about it. GAH! I really hope nothing like that happens to me, because I put everything I have in every single chapter I upload, and to have to throw it away for 'mature ' or 'inappropriate' content, even though it's rated M, is just absolute bullshit. And even though I'm kinda scared to post this chapter up, I'm gonna do it anyways. **

**So... Warning for a lime with a minor, I'll let you know when it begins if you want to skip it.**

**!P.S I changed the rating to M!**

I woke up when my alarm made its usual shrill ring, and I groaned. Ten o' clock is waayyyy too early for me on a weekend, especially since my schedule has been fucked up since coming here. Usually classes end an hour before the sun rises, and start when the sun sets.

Putting on some Slipknot, I sang along in the shower to wake me up some. Corey Taylor's voice rang in my dorm as I put on a pair of black cat stockings and a retro coco dress. As the drum solo came around, I placed a bowler hat on my blown-dried hair, and applied some dark make up.

Taking one last glance at myself in the vanity and grabbing my phone, I locked my dorm and left for the library. Before actually leaving the dormitory, I checked outside and realized that there were looming clouds hanging in the sky. Groaning and checking the clock on my cell, I saw I still had half an hour, so I ran back and grabbed my umbrella.

Finally running outside, I blessed London's weather. Sun rarely makes its appearance, and even though it gets annoying to constantly take an umbrella, I think it's a good price to pay to stay away from that stupid gas ball of doom.

As I passed some day time students, I did notice that they took a second look at me, or just plainly stared. I even heard a camera go off, and I sighed. I guess I'm a freak on both sides of the world.

I entered the giant library, and headed for the back which held the visual novels, or as the rest of the world called them, mangas. And since no one was there yet, I picked up a Naruto volume and began reading.

"I was not aware that you enjoyed Japanese style visual novels, Miss Echoes," A British voice whispered in my ear, and I suppressed a groan. Why did he have to be the first one here?

"Why can't you Brits just call these mangas?!" I whispered-yelled, my lack of sleep making me cranky.

"Oh my, is my kitten still sleepy from last night?" Sebastian rubbed my shoulder, and even though it felt good enough to make me purr, I took a step away from him.

"Yes I am," I stared at Kakashi Hatake's face when I spoke to the demon, "And you should be careful about the way you act around me, Master. You're arousing suspicion in the other students."

"Is that so," He smirked, and turned his attention to the stacks of mangas next to him, "But I do admit, a taboo relationship between a schoolgirl and teacher is quite interesting. I find that idea rather—"

"Please don't tell me you're talking about what I think you're talking about," Ciel came around the corner with Trayvon and Shanna, and Rosaline and Noah came soon after.

"Why Master, what could you be implying?" Sebastian leered from his manga, and Ciel glared at him.

"Never mind about that," Ciel coughed, "Let's talk about what happened last night. Sebastian, explain."

"Yes, my lord," Sebastian slightly bowed and spoke in a low voice, "Last night I made contact with the perpetrators. They're a pack of werewolves, convinced that Sterling Cross killed their alpha male, and they want revenge. So, knowing that we were the hired help, they told us that if we get in the way they'll have no qualms about hurting us as well. But my lord struck a deal with them— if we can prove that Mr. Cross is innocent, they'll stop with their assaults, but if he is guilty, we'll have a large fight at hand. Tonight they'll receive us in their lair and we'll investigate the crime scene for any evidence at hand that may or may not defend Sterling Cross."

I chuckled when he said lair. Like, who says _lair_? We're going to the enemy's _lair _guys. The victims were taken hostage in the enemy's _lair. _Ha! Lair lair lair—

"So we'll meet up here at eight, correct?" Rosaline asked.

"Yes. Don't let anyone see you; we don't need to attract anymore attention."

"Yes sir," I mock saluted with the Naruto manga, and placed it back with the others.

"Especially you," Ciel eyed me, "That pure blood seems to really like you Artemis. I don't want him to cause more trouble than we need."

"Yeah, yeah. Don't worry about it, dude," I shrugged it off.

"Alrighty, then I'll see you guys later tonight," Shanna waved goodbye, followed by the other 'teachers'. I stayed for a bit longer, relieved that nobody seemed to notice my bandaged wrist, albeit it w_as_ covered by the sleeve of the dress.

Sighing, I removed the bandages since it was perfectly fine, and the only reason why I didn't do earlier is because in my haste to get my umbrella, my mind just completely forgot that I was going to see _Sebastian, _the over-possessive stupid cat-loving demon. If he were to see that his ever-so-precious pet was hurt, he'd throw a hissy fit, and I'd rather not deal with that now.

This time I actually looked out the window before going outside, so my umbrella was out and ready to keep me dry of the rain. I mean, don't get me wrong, I adore rain. I love dancing in it, fighting in it, even showering during a thunderstorm. There's just something about the soft pitter-patter that the droplets make that comfort me. But I don't want to ruin my make up after putting in so much effort, you know?

I was humming Marilyn Mason's _No Reflection _when lightning lit up the sky, and I grimaced. I sure as hell wasn't going to make it to my dorm without running really fast, thereby blowing my all-human cover, so I jogged over to the nearest building, which just so happened to be the cafeteria. Great. Just great.

Knowing that it'd be stupid to not eat when it's practically time for lunch, I grabbed the cash I had hidden in the lining of my hat, and kept it in the palm of my hand. All I wanted to do is get in line, sit in a corner, eat, and listen to music while ignoring everything around me.

But knowing me I'll probably never get that peace.

Once I entered the doors, all eyes were on me. I mean, they _all_ couldn't be staring, but it sure felt that way. Even the chefs looked at me with something akin to fascination, and I wondered if I could just take my food to the dorm and eat it there. It would keep me from the prying eyes of the daytime students and whatever nighttime students that were able to come out during the day.

Sighing, I payed for my food and just sat at one of the empty tables. Even though I was out of earshot for regular humans, I could still hear them gossiping about the 'goth girl'. Honestly, these Brits were no different than the Americans.

I put on the ear buds that were connected to my phone and listened to metal, loud enough that I couldn't tell if there was somebody next to me or not. I began eating whatever the hell I ordered, and I don't remember because it was something really fancy that only prestigious academies could afford to offer to their students. Like, have you ever been to an Italian restaurant and order something completely random and foreign? That's me.

But even though I was eating some type of rare chicken or whatever, it felt nostalgic. Sitting here, by myself, with no one to talk to. It reminded me of the days before I met the Queen's Animals, before I boarded a plane to England, and before my life took a turn for the worst. The second time, that is.

That day, I was so shocked and scared. If my family didn't want me, who would? It didn't dawn on me until the day I turned twelve that I would have to provide for myself, because no human adult would ever be able to take me in as a child.

Grimacing for the second time in an hour, I threw away my food. That chicken was making me sad and depressed. Besides, I'm not alone anymore. And I never will be, considering Sebastian is being pretty adamant about keeping me alive for whatever reason, and Ciel's gonna be there too, that pompous bastard. Yaaaayyyy. Can you hear the sarcasm?

I left the students when the rain started to lift up a bit, and returned to my dorm where (surprise!) Sebastian was waiting for me. I mentally groaned.

"Yo," I gave him a two-fingered wave as I placed back my dripping umbrella and phone on my desk. He didn't do anything in response, just stayed in his spot in the corner like a creeper. I raised an eyebrow surprised, confused and slightly scared at his lack of movement and emotion.

"Hey, dude— I mean Master," I quickly corrected myself, and put my bowler hat down as well, "Are you feeling okay? You look like a cat got run over or something. Or did a dog lick you? Did it traumatize you or somethin'? If so, you should talk to the academy's counselor, I hear he's pretty good."

"Just shut up," Sebastian's unemotional mask cracked a bit, "Just come here, that's an order."

My feet moved of their own accord, not that it bothered me much this time. When does Sebastian ever get like this, anyways?

Once I was a couple inches away from him, the crow demon pulled me in for a hug, and squeezed me hard enough to break my spine. Or at least, it felt like it. I—like the total socially awkward turtle that I am—stayed still with eyes wide. His gloved hands tightened at my waist, and he moved his head against mine to move the hair away from my face, but he never made eye contact with me or said anything.

After it felt like I was about to split in two, I squeaked out, "Master, I can't breathe."

That really didn't help me at all. Sebastian maybe loosened his grip a millimeter; however he picked me up and laid me on the bed. Before I could freak out at how this could play out, the demon had already placed himself on top of me. And for the first time, I saw his eyes.

His depraved, swirling, piercing red eyes.

**~~~~~~~(LIME BEGINNING READ AT OWN RISK)~~~~~~~**

"M-master?" I whispered out, afraid that any loud noise would break him.

Apparently my whispering motivated him into kissing my forehead, eyelids, cheek bones, basically everything except for my lips. I, too stupefied and flabbergasted and just too damn _surprised _to do anything, was now registering the feeling of having his mouth pressed against my body. He was hot, scorching hot, and I almost wanted to check if he was burning me. But Sebastian wouldn't let me break our gaze, like a snake staring at a rabbit before it strikes.

However, this feels a hell of a lot better than getting killed. I was so damn close to moaning when the demon moved onto my collar bone. _Moaning._ The idea has never crossed my mind in all the years I've been alive, but suddenly it felt really, really necessary. I bit my lip so that I didn't make any noise, except a few whimpers did come out.

Sebastian was sucking on my neck when a new sensation came along. It was like there was a tingling in between my legs, and a coil was beginning to form in my stomach. I wanted—or rather _needed_—Sebastian to touch me, to kiss me, to do a_nything. _

I felt his nose travel up to my ear, and shivered when his breath blew into my ear. It was broiling, just like the rest of him. And I was starting to get unbearably warm, and uncomfortable with the tingling, and began to wonder what was causing that when I realized what was happening to me; I was getting aroused.

"Master," I tried to face him, "Master, please talk to me. What's going on?" Great, I was panting. And getting wet.

"I keep thinking about you," He broke away for a second, "You in class in that uniform, how you look when you're studying, sleeping, yawning…choking," He added, before wrapping his long fingers around my throat.

My breathing was already shallow when he decided to assault me with kisses, so cutting off my air supply almost made me pass out. I grabbed and pulled at his hair, dug my fingernails into him, hell I even tried to knee him in the groin. And all that seemed to do is get _him_ turned on, according to the hard bulge I could feel forming with my legs. Plus his breath hitched whenever I did something to inflict pain, and he gave me the most predatory and primal look ever.

So I instead focused on getting enough oxygen into my body, but that proved impossible because Sebastian began rubbing a hand on my sex through my clothes, a total and complete distraction. I could feel friction where I needed it most, and combined with the inability to breathe, which made thinking a lot harder than usual, I lost it.

I began moaning (or at least tried to, since his stupid hand was still on my throat) as well as moving in synchronism with Sebastian's hand. It felt so _good, _his touch was relieving the sweet, sweet ache in my core, and I knew from his groans he enjoyed this kinky shit.

Apparently my master liked to be the dominant one.

_And I, I don't mind at all._

I felt his hand move up to graze my cheek, but something was still pressing into me, a hard, blunt object.

It took me a while to figure out it was his erection grinding on me, that I was grinding against _it, _and we were both turned on beyond comprehension.

"M-master," I choked out, and pressed myself harder on him, "I didn't…realize…you were into…these kinda things…" I moaned.

"You seem to be enjoying yourself as well," He growled out, eyes swirling pink, "What a dirty girl you are, Artemis. I wonder how you'll react with your punishments, because if you're this aroused with simple teasing, I can only imagine how wet you'll be when we do it for real."

He slipped his hand under my dress, towards my heat. When he lightly touched my panties, I didn't care that my face was probably blue; I needed him, Sebastian, the infuriating crow demon that cursed my family for eternity without a second thought or regret—

_Jesus, _what am I doing?!

Before his fingers could touch flesh, even though I _needed him,_ I closed my thighs and fought back. How could I be so stupid, so wanton? This is my enemy, the one who kept me from bonding with my family, the one who _cursed me._

The day I have sex with him is the day Trayvon starts to do monologues.

Which is never.

Luckily I caught him off guard, so I did manage to push him and escape through the window. Which meant I was drenched in a couple minutes, but I didn't care. If I didn't get away from Sebastian I'd: 1.) Submit to him and 2.) Die.

I could hear him land behind me, so I sprinted as fast as I could. I was running so fast that even if the humans did see me, all they'd register is a black blur. And the rain was still pounding, which meant if I focused on the noise around me and not Sebastian, I wouldn't be able to hear his order, and I can't follow directions I can't hear right?

I really hoped it worked that way.

We must've run laps across the entire campus, and I was contemplating going into the woods when a howl ripped through the air. I immediately stopped, which caused Sebastian to crash into me from behind and we both fell. He gripped my sides painfully, but he couldn't get far since people started showing up.

"Sebastian!" Ciel talked harshly, "Get up. Something happened over with the werewolves."

"What the hell are you doing on top of Artemis?!" Shanna tried to keep her voice down, and Rosaline offered a hand to me, which I would have taken if Sebastian hadn't growled at her.

"Whoa, whoa! What's going on?!" Noah pulled back Rosaline, as if he was expecting the crow demon to bite her or something.

"I dunno," I was swiftly picked up and tucked under a warm arm, but I didn't let it show that it bothered me. He wouldn't dare do anything in front of them.

"Whatever it is, it isn't as important as this mission," Ciel glared at me with more fury than was appropriate, "We are going _now, _and that's an order. Understood?"

I could feel thundering vibrations raking throughout Sebastian's body as he replied with a rough, "Yes, my lord."

After jumping past the nearest tree, we were out and running in a fraction of a second, more howls resonating in the air.

"Can you sense exactly how many there are?" I weaved in and out of the trees, barely dodging them by an inch or two.

"What, are you unable to do something as simple as that?" Ciel retorted.

"Of course I am you imbecile," I choked on my words as he continued to glare at me with pure, unadulterated hatred, "I just wanted to make sure that you wouldn't be surprised when we have to go seven to two hundred."

"Nothing surprises me," He snapped, immediately ending the conversation.

Rolling my eyes, I punched the first living thing I saw. Unfortunately I hit it so hard that it flew through trees, so I couldn't tell what it was. But more of them came along, angered about their hurt comrade. Glowing eyes glared at us, and their scent bombarded my nose.

"Werewolves," I murmured, slightly embarrassed that I hurt one of the people I was temporarily allies with. I scratched my head and offered an apologetic smile, to whoever was out there watching me.

"Are you with the vampires?" An unruly looking man stepped forward into the dim lighting that cloudy skies give, wearing nothing but a simple t-shirt and jeans. His eyes had a goldish tint to them, giving him a feral edge.

"These are our comrades, the ones we were telling you about last night," Sebastian replied with a razor edge, "What happened? Why did you sound an alarm during the day?"

"Something—or rather s_omeone _happened," The tan man admitted after a pause, "But we can't stay here for too long, or else she'll punish us again."

"Why, er, rather w_ho _will punish you?" I interjected, "I would've thought that you'd be the leader of the pack or something."

He seemed surprised by my young age, but answered my question anyways, "I may be the alpha male, however I don't have the slightest idea how it works. That's what she's for."

I arched an eyebrow, "So it's the alpha female and not male, huh? I guess women are taking a stand everywhere."

"_Just shut up_," Ciel and Sebastian whispered in sync, then glared at one another. I, feeling the awkward tension, just zipped my lips and tried not to say anything else.

"Just please explain," Rosaline asked.

Growls resonated from the dark, "The alpha female does not feel comfortable having demons such as you two entering our home. She claims that she knows it is the pure blood that killed her mate, and you cannot stop her from taking action."

That just sounded shady. Who cares if we got two demons waltzing around? One of them is slightly reasonable and the other is bound by contract. That will never end. Ha!

"Unfortunately, my master's orders are absolute," Before he could continue, I interrupted.

"But the Queen's orders take priority," I looked at the werewolves, "Technically all she told us to do was protect the vampires and to stop the attacks. If you don't quit killing the blood suckers, we'll have no choice but eradicate you. And I don't want to do that. The thing that I don't understand is why Sterling would kill your leader. He doesn't look like the kind to kill in cold blood as you say. But please, if it would make things easier to only have the non-demons enter, we'd be more than happy to oblige."

The tan man stared at me again, with a strange look in his eyes, "Don't make assumptions for others, little girl."

I twitched at being called 'little girl', and Sebastian clenched his fists.

"Our proposal was that we learn whether or not Sterling Cross is truly the vampire who murdered your alpha," I said slowly, trying not to sound annoyed, "I suspect that there is a third party who tried to frame the pure blood and wanted to cause some trouble. Not sure why though…" I trailed off, getting lost in my thoughts, "But do you guys really want to back out of your word? We had a pact, no?"

"What if there is no 'third party'?" A voice rang out from the darkness, "What if it was Sterling Cross? You are all just trying to please that Queen of yours."

"As stated in the pact before, if it was Sterling Cross, we'd fight," I ground out, "And I'm not even British!"

"So even the girl will fight," The only visible werewolf said, almost sounding apprehensive, "Just know that if it comes to that, I won't go easy on you, even if you are a child."

I shrugged, "I understand."

"So we'll notify our alpha female about the outsiders coming," He stuck his hairy hands into the pockets of his jeans, and rolled on the balls of his feet, "With this new information in tow, I'm positive there will be no more problems."

"Of course. I'm glad we made a compromise," I said, staring into his strange eyes.

"And am I correct in assuming that you will be coming as well?" He stared back at me.

"Well, _yeah_," I smiled.

_Zachary Carter. Age 46, new alpha of a wolf pack. Loyal to his family and best friend, Maximus Taylor, he set out for revenge when he found Maximus' corpse on the cave grounds. Even though Maximus stole the love of his life, Zachary never held it against him._

Shaking hands, the wolves howled. It sent some shivers down my spine to hear such a beautiful noise at the dead of night, and it brought me back to the present after reading the werewolf's past.

"If it's not too much to ask," I began after the wolves stopped, "Can I investigate the crime scene? The place where your leader was killed," I added when he gave me a confused look.

"Oh, yes, of course. I'm not sure what else you'll find there since we've already moved the body and cleaned up the 'crime scene'..."

I glanced at Sebastian, "That's perfectly fine. I have my own means of finding out what happened."

This seemed to arouse interest, as whispers began going back and forth. Even Sebastian arched an eyebrow.

"What exactly are you, child?" The wolf man stared at me, as if the answer would appear on my forehead or something, "I know that your partner is a crow demon, but you are not nearly as corrupted as he is. I can sense power coming from you. It is very strange."

"Ehh," I shrugged again, "Even I'm not sure what you'd call something like me. Other than a mutant freak, that is."

"A mutant freak, huh?" A faint smile lit his face, "Many of my people have thought the same before knowing the truth," But the smile faded when he saw the jewelry adorning my neck, "You have faith in a god, and yet you are chained to a monster. Pray tell, who are you bound to?"

That's when Sebastian decided to join in the conversation, "She is bound to me. The girl is mine, and mine alone."

I puffed out my cheeks and let the air out. Will I ever get used to the idea that a demon is super possessive over me and that he thinks of me as a pet?

Probably not.

Giving me a sorry look, Zachary turned into a large grey wolf. He sniffed at my boots and glanced up to make eye contact, and I realized that he was going to go back to his _lair _or something. I nodded in understanding, and we went our separate ways, only to meet back at the dead of night.

"I'm surprised you actually managed to compromise with the lycans, Artemis," Ciel praised me without really sounding like he was praising me.

"Yeah, I know, freaks of nature are awesome," I waved him off, "So you're not mad about not going to the _lair _or anything? I thought that you would've throttled me."

Ciel chuckled, and I looked past his head to see Sebastian glare at us. If the crow demon had lasers for eyes, I'd be fried to a crisp. A very sassy Hispanic crisp.

"No, I understand completely," Ciel chuckled again, and I was beginning to get weirded out, "It was the only way out~"

"Dude, are you okay?"

"Unfortunately my master took up an offer from Mr. _DeClay_," Sebastian grimaced at the thought of Noah, "They wanted to see how much alcohol it would take my young master to 'get a buzz', as he put it," The raven-haired man shook his head, "It seems it required approximately three liquor stores' worth of alcohol for him to feel a bit tipsy, and another four to get like this."

"Um…" I tried to wrap my head around the whole predicament, but decided it wasn't worth it, "Okay, no, I'm not even—I can't even—you know what?" I huffed, "I'm gonna go get ready with the others. Try to sober up the demon that's laughing like Undertaker."

And laughing like Undertaker he was, as well as spinning around in his chair and barking like a dog.

I really wish Sebastian had let me record the ordeal, or at least take a couple pictures.

This time when we saw Zachary, he was a large grey wolf, maybe about the size of a fully grown horse. There were others around him as well, but they were a bit smaller. After greeting, we sprinted out, with the Queen's Animals running in the middle of the pack.

As we went deeper into the woods, the forest grew much denser, making it harder to avoid the trees. Light was scarce, and my eyes were beginning to adjust to the dark when we arrived to a large cave. It looked deserted, but I could hear the light pitter-patter of small paws and feet, probably belonging to the children of the pack.

Some of the wolves transformed back into their human forms, while most stayed in their four-legged state, ears low and hackles high. It was just a guess, but maybe they don't take well to outsiders?

Leading us through twists and turns, I caught a glimpse of a werewolf's life. Women with hair decorated with leaves and twigs, taking care of infinite children as their males left to hunt down food and threats. They were all at least _somewhat _muscular, ranging from lean to bulking. Even the 'pups' had protruding muscles. I tried to keep to myself, especially when some kids ran around me, sniffing my clothes and shoes. I awkwardly smiled at their mothers when their lips curled back to reveal glistening fangs, which then caused Noah or Trayvon to step in front of me, trying to keep me from their field of vision.

"What do you think you're doing bringing in outsiders, Zachary?" One of the women walked up and blocked our path, "I thought you said you weren't bringing in any demons, yet the youngest one _reeks _of a powerful elder. Hasn't our pack already been through enough strife?"

Zachary only gave her a one-second glance before pushing through her, "None of them are devils. They're the ones who came here to help. To find out what really happened to our alpha."

That didn't seem to convince her since she stepped in front of us once again, "What _really _happened? Do you even hear yourself? The stench of that stupid and vile vampire was still lingering on the corpse when we found him, lying dead in a pool of blood! And you think that there was something more to it?"

Zachary gave her a full-on glare, "This child, who doesn't know much about us or the vampires, has volunteered to find the true culprit because she has a strong sense of justice and wants to protect the innocent. If we cause harm to her, the demon will kill us. If we don't, we get no harm. Why are you so against this, Helen?"

I tried to make eye contact with her, to see if she had something to do with the late alpha's death, but Helen didn't bother sparing one glance at me, rather at the 'more' posing threats, Noah, Rosaline, Trayvon, and Shanna. Talking about the Queen's Animals, they all had what I assumed to be their game faces, as if they were trying to look bad ass or something. Then I mentally face palmed. Of course they'd look like that here; we're surrounded by _wolves, _of all things.

"I'm not against this, really," She toned down her voice into liquid butter, "I guess the demon-smelling girl just surprised me, is all. But I don't think they'll find anything new, Zach. Just send them back where they came from, okay?"

The tension left Zachary's body, and he answered in a softer tone as well, "I can't. I believe that this little girl can help us, and return peace to our pack. I don't know how to explain it, but I get this feeling that she will bring great change."

I could practically see the red tick mark on her forehead, and her forced smile looked painful, "Just be sure that that 'great change' isn't us disappearing, _for good._"

Once Helen sauntered away, I released a breath I didn't realize I was holding. Why did she have to be such a bitch?

Ha! Get it? I'm hilarious.

"Sorry about her," Zachary apologized, "She hasn't been the same since Maximus died; of course no one would be the same if their mate died."

So she's the top bitch? What does Zachary see in her?

After a couple more turns, we were so deep in the cave that there were no werewolves wandering about. A few torches lit the way, but I'm not exactly sure why because wolves have perfect eyesight in the dark. But nevertheless, we were finally in Maximus' 'bedroom', and we entered after Zachary gave us a nod.

Even though Zachary said that they cleaned up, I could still imagine myself in a gory-horror movie scene. There were still coppery stains on the stone walls and decorative animal skins, ranging from splotches to what looked like somebody took a bucket and splashed it on the wall.

"So what exactly were you planning on doing?" Shanna asked, uncharacteristically looking bored despite the murder scene.

"Just give me a second and let me do my thing," I muttered before closing my eyes and concentrated on the setting that was in front of me.

Once a chill racked through my body, I opened my eyes, and gasped at what I saw.

**A/N: Ooohhh cliff hanger! What did our mentally disturbed heroine see?!**

**How did my crack at a lime go? I don't like it that much compared to what I've read on this website, but I guess it's one of those things you get better at through practice. Please don't give me any flames for my horrible lime, I'm just a high school student! They don't teach us this at school!**

**And it took me foreeeevvvvvvveeeerrrrr to get this chapter typed up and edited. Ughhh. I had to move things, add things, delete things, put it off because of school, etc. etc. All for you guys.**

**Much Love!**


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